The Son of Kronos
by quicksilver21
Summary: Morwin, son of Titan Lord Kronos has been trained since the moment he answered his father's calling and now his time has come to serve his almighty father as he is charged with the task of resurrecting him from the depths of Tartarus. However, the demigods of Camp Half-Blood will not let him perform this task without doing what they can to stop him. Updated regularly. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1 - Recipe for Resurrection

_I do not own the Percy Jackson series or any Greek myths...so don't sue me_

The Son of Kronos - Chapter 1 - Recipe for Resurrection

I walked the dark halls of the burnt down orphanage, walking past all the long abandoned rooms, knowing inside me that they didn't contain the information I was looking for. My father, the Titan Lord, Kronos, had told me that i'd know when I found what I was looking for. I ascended the stairs, testing each step before I put my weight on it. I'd have loved to have the pleasure of knowing all this destruction had been my work, but my father had not granted me such a simple, yet joy bringing task.

As I arrived on the second flow, I turned, looking down the narrow hallway. At the end of the hallway I saw the office of the man who had run this orphanage. I kept my eyes fixed on his office and waved my hand in the air, allowing me to see into the past, when this orphanage was burned to the ground. I looked at the children's faces as their home burnt down arrived them and a smile spread across my own. I turned as a young boy tried to descend the stairs and saved his pointless life, as he did a beam above him collapsed, crushing him where he stood. The amount of joy I experienced in the moment he looked up to see the beam falling towards him, the fear in his young, innocent eyes…

I froze the vision of the past at that moment and walked over to him, my black cape dusting the floor as I went. I crouched down so I was about level height, my eyes right next to his as he looked at the beam coming to crush him…I could've looked into those eyes forever, absorbing his fear, feeding of his dismay, experiencing the joy as I watched him die over and over. I pulled away and as I did so I felt a pain in my gut. I lurched forward, cradling my stomach, a scowl spreading across my facial features as I realised my father was telling me to stop enjoying myself and get a move on. Chopped into tiny pieces in Tartarus but can still find the magic punish his son for enjoying himself, how I adored my loving father.

I heeded his message and began walking down the corridor, only the sound of my combat boots stomping on the weak floor and my cape lightly brushing against the floor as I walked. I increased my pace, fully expecting the information I was looking for to be in the office at the end of the hallway, in the only place that seemed to hold any proper authority when it was actually running. About three quarters of the way down the hallway my head flared with pain, and I stopped in my tracks, my hand darting to my head. I looked to my right, a regular room, burnt and destroyed beyond recognition but as I took another step into the room the pain in my head increased, drawing me towards the upturned bed.

I ignored the increasing pain in my head and threw the bed aside. Underneath was what would have looked like a normal floor, but now was revealed to be a half burnt away secret compartment, in which lay an A3 book, as thick as my hand with folded paper sticking out where it had been roughly taped inside. I picked up the book and the pain subsided, this was what I had been looking for. I stood up and turned to leave, but my curiosity got the better of me and I turned back around, waving my hand in the air and going back to the moment of the fire.

I wasn't looking for fear or the beautiful look of pain on the children's faces but rather how this book got under there. I pocketed the book as the world around me dissolved and the past formed in its place. A little girl was running around panicked by the burning building around her, she pushed the bed aside and lifted the fake flooring, throwing the book inside. She placed her hand on top of it, mouthing a quick spell of safety I recognised from my training under my father. She was obviously some kind of demigod, probably a daughter of Athena, the only god i'd ever give the credit of giving birth to children smart enough to hide things, and attempt to protect from a fire.

I was about to destroy the vision but stuck around, just to make sure the demigod perished. She was inevitably trapped in the hallway and the flames jumped onto her skin, burning her alive. As I saw her die a smile spread from the edges of my lips and I had to focus to remove it as I walked down the stairs and out the door I entered. I stood in the courtyard, looking at the damaged orphanage, filled with death and destruction, no one without a purpose would go in…but it was those with a purpose I intended on keeping out. I pulled my jet black scythe from my back and held it in both hands, just as my father had taught me. I brought it up, over my head, and sliced the doorway, collapsing the front part of the weak structure.

I observed the rubble and determined it would take someone with extreme skill or a divine parent with particular powers to enter now, and I had no chance of keeping those people out no matter what I did. Satisfied with my work I sheathed my scythe and began the long journey back to Tartarus, to begin the resurrection of my almighty and unforgiving father. Then, we would reap revenge on his enemies together, as father and son.

As I walked down the stoney road, my combat boots making a dark sound that was music to my ears every time they hit the ground. I brought the book out of my pocket and carefully flicked through it, reading the odd page but ignoring sot of it. I'd already known that reviving my father would never be an easy task, but from the little information I gathered from this roughly-bound book it was going to a journey that would require every ounce of training i'd ever had. Finally, a task worthy of my attention.


	2. Chapter 2 - Meeting Hades

The Son of Kronos - Chapter 2 - Meeting Hades

The journey to Tartarus was as merciless as it was unforgiving, which is to say very. I could have easily counted the times I actually felt safe on the journey on the fingers of one hand, which surprisingly were all still attached. I journeyed to the underworld and took about five steps before a bloodthirsty pack of hellhounds tried to take my life. I made my way through the underworld with relative ease, not stopping to rest on my journey.

As I strolled through the underworld, idly gazing at the pitch-black sky and the grey grass I walked on I wondered just how well I camouflaged here. I wore a black combat suit, created by my father to help the flow of magic, along with my black cape, combat boots and , of course, my scythe strapped to my back. I figured that if the creatures here were not well adapted to the dark i'd be practically invisible on the landscape. Yet, the creatures could see me perfectly fine and the trek through the underworld was as dangerous as any journey i'd taken recently.

After what seemed like a day or so of journeying I reached the palace i'd be looking for. I suppose I was actually just walking in a random direction as i'd been given no information on where to locate the structure, but i'd had a gut feeling and it turned out to be correct. As I stood in-between two of the four columns at the front of the castle I felt the constant stream of magical energy it was sending outwards, into Hades' realm, keeping the sky and the ground black, giving no damned soul the delusion of hope, just the reality of their eternal punishment.

I stood outside the gates for a few minutes, drinking in the power radiated by the god of the underworld before entering the palace. Contrary to the exterior of the palace the inside was quite nice. A greek theme ran throughout (no surprises there) with a huge fireplace covering a large portion of the right side wall. I strolled into the middle of the room and situated myself upon a large chair, placed next to a table with a chair at the opposite side. I sat patiently, waiting for my audience with the god of the underworld, whenever he cared to show.

After waiting about five minutes I held out my hand and the shadows under it slowly rose until they were in a sphere, hovering above the palm of my hand. The first sphere was joined by two more of equal side and I spun them in midair, using my demititan powers. I tended not to use my powers in battle, partly due to the lack of strength they had compared to my scythe but mostly because I liked to give my opponents an honourable death, by the weapon of someone more powerful than they could possibly conceive. I had been taught at the very beginning of my training not to be cocky, and I didn't believe I was being, I was just confident in my skills.

The spheres began to spin around in their triangular formation faster and faster, until they just became one blur hovering over my palm. After this I soon became bored of the trick and stopped the spheres, letting them slowly dissipate and descend back into the floor, blending back into the shadows they came from. As the magic drained from the shadows i'd been using a heard the clang of metal boots on the marble floor.

"Impressive" Hades praised

"Not to you" I replied sourly as I arose from my seating, greeting the god politely. I had been told by my father that Hades was short-tempered and had been taught exactly how to play him, should it come to that. However, I was not content on making an enemy of the god of the underworld without trying to appease him first.

He gestured for me to sit as he occupied the seat opposite me

"What brings you to the underworld, and more to the point, who are you?" he frowned at me, trying to remember any information he had learned about me

"The Titan lord Kronos rests at the bottom of Tartarus" I began, despite being fairly coincident he already knew why I was here "I need an audience with him, thus I need you to guide me there"

"Hmm" he pondered "that doesn't tell me who you are"

"I'm a demititan, with the intention to revive Kronos, ultimately destroying Olympus" I answered honestly

"Who is your father?" he asked, and I could tell he genuinely didn't know who my father was "Atlas? Hyperion? Prometheus?"

"Neither of those Titans are my father" I replied politely

He thought another moment, until his eyes widened and he stared at me in shock

"Surely not him?" Hades exclaimed, leaning forward

"Kronos is my father" I confirmed. Hades rose from his seat, drawing his sword from his side and throwing it into the ground beside him.

"I refuse to believe such outrageous lies" he said viciously

"Be you god of the underworld or a mere mortal it matters not if you believe what I say, I just need passage to Tartarus" I rose from my seat and drew my scythe, planting the blunt end on the ground, confirming I had been trained under the Lord of Titans and time itself"

"If you prove that you are, as you say, the son of Kronos I shall grant you safe passage to Tartarus, as for leaving that is your problem" he looked at me curiously

"A more than fair offer" I bowed.

I raised my scythe and held it horizontally, in both hands and gestured for Hades to take it. The god of the underworld took my scythe gently, as if it were the scythe of Kronos himself.

"What proof is this?" he asked, clearly irritated

"The blade" I explained "read it" he seemed curious as to how he could read a blade but as he looked at the glinting black metal that had cut down so many of my foes his eyes, once again widened and he looked at me in shock, truly believing for the first time I was a child of Kronos.

"So be it" he said, gently handing me back my scythe. Before I shouldered my scythe again I took a quick moment to read the inscription on it once more, the inscription forged into the blade by my father himself as he'd made it and the inscription that had made a god believe whose blood I carried in my veins.

Written in ancient greek along the blade were the words I easily translated as 'To my son, Morwin, may this blade cut down any an all that stand in your path, in my name. Know that I watch over all your endeavours and grant my blessing upon you. Your father, Kronos.' Those words always made me feel special, no matter what mundane task I was given, to know I had the Titan Lord, my own father, looking over me always made a difference. The god of the underworld looked at me one more time, as if wondering wether or not honouring his side of the deal. I didn't doubt for a second that he would take me to Tartarus, i'd seemed to have gained his favour and Hades himself had no love for the gods who sat high on Mount Olympus, watching over mortals like they owned them…but that would soon change.

He made his mind up within a rather short space of time and told me to hold my breath, to which I obliged. He picked up his blade, freeing it from the marble flooring and leaving an ugly hole. With his free hand he pulled back and then extending it, letting loose a stream of black waves which surrounded and enveloped me. I let out the breath i'd been holding and then I was in the underworld no more, I was in a place much, much worse than anyones perception of hell.


	3. Chapter 3 - Hell Talks Back

The Son of Kronos - Chapter 3 - Hell Talks Back

I arrived in Tartarus still enveloped in shadows, which sunk into the ground within seconds. Hades had not travelled with me, but I didn't really mind, I never truly planned on making an ally of the god of the underworld. Tartarus was, by every stretch of the word, hell. I arrived on a stone bridge that didn't look very secure but I decided to walk it, despite the lava glowing beneath the weakened and fragile-looking structure.

I don't know why it came as a surprise to me, but Tartarus looked a lot like a really big cave. The lava, the rocks even the naturally formed bridge. Looking back on it, Tartarus was always described as a sort of pit, so it being a cave seemed about right. I scolded myself as I began to walk at a regular pace across the bridge. I soon stopped being mad at myself when I realised no one knows what to expect when they enter hell itself, me included.

The bridge was holding fairly well, better than I thought it was going to. A few rocks fell off as I walked across, but I was confident it would hold me. Despite my father being shredded at the bottom of this hell it was still where his magic was strongest, if I was a demigod I would've run off by now, but my father had faith that I would restore him to life, so I kept faith that he'd keep my alive in Tartarus. My theory look to be correct as I passed several harpies sat on a nearby rock, they observed me and didn't look happy but they didn't move a single inch.

As I walked further the bridge still showed no sign of ending, it went on as far as the eye could see. I began to focus on the little things as I walked, the shapes of the rocks around me and the size of the chunks that fell from the bridge. Eventually I decided to try and focus on the power in the air around me, figuring it would get closer as I got closer to my father. The second I tried I was hit by a wave of unexpected energy, knocking me to the floor and almost off the bridge. I climbed back to my knees and tried again, steeling myself against the energy.

The amount of power in this hell was overwhelming, this was the power of so many beasts locked away by the gods and the Titan Lord, my father, Kronos. I got to my feet and began walking again, at the same pace. I focused more on the energy and where it went, into the air around me, into me if I willed it so and, to my surprise into my scythe. I knew my scythe had been formed in this very lava but, as far as I knew it was not magical…did it have some sort of power? As the thought entered my head so did a voice…the voice of Kronos.

I stopped walking as soon as I heard my father's voice. He'd spoken to me before but i'd never heard him so clearly

"Indeed" he informed me "your scythe has its own power"

"What power?" I asked, continuing on my journey across the bridge, unsheathing my scythe and examining it closely as I walked

"That is yet to be discovered" he said "try it out" with that comment his voice was gone, no longer speaking to me. I held the scythe in one hand and looked around, searching for something to test its magic upon.

I figured its magic must be things that I would be unable to do. I pointed the scythe at a nearby rock and pictured a wave of energy flowing from the scythe to the rock and making it explode. It didn't work as i'd pictured it but it did make a few big cracks in the rock and, a little while later, a portion of the rock fell and was devoured by the lava below. I was quite satisfied with that, and felt i'd discovered the powers of my scythe to a fair degree, so I continued on my - seemingly endless- journey to the deepest part of Tartarus.

The walking continued for a long period of time that a daren't look back on, out of worry i'll be traumatised if I knew exactly how long I walked for. The further I walked the bridge the more frequently I saw creatures trapped here. I saw a few more harpies, a fair amount of lizard women and even a couple of chimeras jumping across the rocks either side of me. Despite how easily these creatures could kill me, if given the chance, I didn't feel the slightest amount of fear. These creatures were in the place where Kronos's power was greatest and they could sense my heritage. No one was going to attack me here.

The walk went on and my skin began to feel like paper. I reached to my back, brushing my black cloak out of the way and gripping my scythe in my hand as I pulled it from my back. The feeling flowed back into my hands as I held my scythe in the paper-like catches of my hands. The power that was emitted out of the scythe was enough to boost my morale and keep me walking. Maybe it was the magic, maybe just a coincidence but as I held my scythe and looked ahead I saw the end of the bridge.

The good news was that this dreaded journey was coming to an end. The bad news was that the bridge ended abruptly…above nothing. I hit the end of the bridge and rested my scythe on the ground, looking down into the darkness below. The lava streamed off the edge and I couldn't even hear it hit the ground. As I saw nothing within the pit I figured I needed to get my father's attention, realising this must be the deepest part of Tartarus, made to the Titan Lord Kronos.

I raised my scythe over the pit in on hand and shouted

"Father, I have come" Nothing happened for a brief second…then a laugh rang out in a voice as deep as this pit itself.

"What a surprise" Kronos chuckled "I didn't think you'd make it"

"It was just a bridge…" I said slowly

"That is what you saw" my father explained "Tartarus tests the heart and mind of those who enter it. Your biggest weakness is your impatience, so you were tested on how far you'd go before you gave in. I had my doubts but you succeeded"

I smiled a little at earning my father's approval but remembered why I was here.

"I have the book" I said, bringing it out of my pocket and holding it up. An unnatural wind whipped up from behind me and I worked to keep on my feet as the book was blown out of my hand and into the pit. Kronos kept quite a little while and I just waited patiently, just as I had walking that bridge.

"Go, now" was all he commanded.

I stood, shocked, a second before asking:

"Where do you want me to go?"

"Get back to the upper world, I shall give you orders from there" he told me

"How do I get out?" I quizzed. As I finished lights erupted from the bit of darkness and surrounded my scythe, being absorbed into it. It glowed and then returned to its usual black colour.

"I have powered your scythe" he told me "I will send my thoughts to you threw it, you can also use it to take you to a place in an instant"

I thought a minute and then replied

"Like teleportation" I heard a grumble from the pit

"Yes," came the reply, sounding slightly annoyed "Do not use that unless it's urgent. That magic will burn you up if used too often" Before replying I had a thought about why my father was telling me that, was it that he cared for me? Or did he just want his tasks doing? Either way I was honoured to serve the Lord of Titans Kronos himself and even more so to be his son. I knelt and said

"Yes, father"

I held up my scythe again and willed myself to go to the upper world. Nothing happened at first and then I realised I had no place particular in mind. I was going to ask my father where he wanted me to go but he spoke to me, through my scythe, before I could utter a word.

"Send yourself to where I want you to go" was all he said. I thought for a minute and raised my scythe once more, thinking to myself:

'Transport me where my father wants me to go'…and there I went.


	4. Chapter 4 - Half-Blood Camp

The Son of Kronos - Chapter 4 - Camp Half-Blood

I thought my father would've wanted me to go to someplace dangerous, such as a volcano and collect its lava or something. However, he sent me to the most dangerous place i'd ever been…Camp Half-Blood. I arrived with my scythe held high in the air and was stood on a table, at the head of a bunch of campers eating their meals. A centaur was pacing back and forth behind me as I turned around. I decided the best course of action was to act like everything was fine.

So, acting as if normal, I shouldered my scythe and spoke to the centaur

"Talk to me ten years ago and i'd think you were strange" I sniffed and stepped off the table.

"Who the hell are you?" some random person took a brake from scoffing his meal to address me. I had been taught how to size up my opponents from the start of my training and he was quite a simple one. The orange T-shirt saying 'Camp Half-Blood' told me quickly where I was. Half-Blood obviously meant half human, so what were they half of as well? Seeing as my father, a Titan, sent me here and not many Titans had offspring that still breathed I presumed that this was a camp for demigods.

I tried not to stay alarmed and continued to size up this challenger who was now staring at my viciously. His muscles were big and his hands burnt and scarred, he obviously wasn't a son of Aphrodite. I looked to his waste and his belt carried a hammer which, along with his rough build was enough to convince me that he was born of Hephaestus. I returned his stare for a minute or so and then turned away, ignoring his hostile actions.

"I come from the underworld and i'm the son of some almighty deity, like the rest of you"

"Are you…Hade's son?" A man next to the centaur asked, drinking from his chalice

"No idea" I replied "doubt it though"

No one had anything to say for a while and everyone just awkwardly continued eating. I was gestured to come forward by the centaur and stood opposite him. He observed me curiously before speaking

"No idea who your godly parent is?" he asked

"Who said my parent is a god?" I retorted, he missed the truth completely

"You being here is proof enough" he assured me, above himself

"Then where do I go?"

"Eat for now, at that table over there" he pointed to an almost full table at the end of the row "You can go into the Hermes cabin until you're claimed. They're your cabin mates now"

I trudged slowly to the table and sat on the edge, wary of the glares those belonging to the Hermes cabin were giving me. I sat and twiddled my thumbs for a minute then a little girl on the opposite side of the table said

"Cool scythe, where'd you get it?" with that I was out. I sat up and walked away, into the forrest. The trees surrounding the camp made a nice view, dark inside and made people very hard to track, especially those that knew how to hide their trail - like me. I climbed up a tree and made myself comfortable. I'd sneaked a quick look inside the Hermes cabin on my way here and I wasn't sleeping on some musty floor in a used sleeping bag with about fifteen other people. That was a bit of the reason I wasn't sleeping there anyway, most of it was because I was not a demigod but a demititan.

I had no doubt the gods looked over this place, especially their own cabins. If I went into the cabins then the gods would know whose offspring I was, I doubted they tried to figure out who every new demigods parent was, so they wouldn't figure out that none of them were my parent. I was fairly happy with my sleeping arrangement in the forrest, i'd slept in rougher places on my travels and the tree branches were naturally grown and thick enough for me to rest on. I put my head down and thought about how strange my day had been. I'd visited Tartarus for who knows how long and then arrived at a camp, filled with people who would kill me if they figured out my heritage.

Overall, I didn't think the day had gone too badly. I had made it out of Tartarus, more aware of my weaknesses and with more information on how powerful my scythe truly was. I had the camp director, granted he was a horse, truly believing I was a demigod, although when you randomly appear in a demigod camp people tend to think gods have sent you there, not a Titan. I readjusted my position on the tree and then went to sleep with little trouble.

I woke to the sounds of cracking branches beneath me. I looked down to see a trio, two boys and a girl, with bows drawn, their other hands ready to draw an arrow at a moments notice. They were trying to move silently, looking up into the trees for something - me, I imagined. The girl whispered to her comrades

"Where is he?"

"Foaly said he wants him back to talk to" said one of the boys

"We'll find him soon" the other one commented. I'd heard all I needed to.

I jumped from the tree and landed in a crouch behind the tree as they walked further away. As they crossed between each other, switching from who was at the back to who was at the front I figured these were children of Apollo, hunters by nature. As they switched once more I advanced and grabbed the neck of the boy at the back, slamming him down to the floor on his neck, knocking him out cold. The girl looked round and I stepped forward quickly grabbing her head as I raised my knee and slammed her forehead into my knee and slamming her brain against her skull, sending her unconscious.

The final boy looked around and gulped as he saw me smile. I pulled my scythe from under my cloak and twirled it in my right hand. His hand went for an arrow but I shot our my scythe, putting the blade to his throat.

"You don't want to do that" I told him, but he grabbed one nevertheless. As his hand touched the arrow I spun, ducking as he aimed his bow at me and slammed the smooth edge of the blade into his nose, sending him to the floor. I stood over him and looked into his eyes

"You're lucky I didn't kill you" I said, wondering why I actually didn't kill him. He looked at me while I thought and that annoyed me somehow, so I kicked him in the face and knocked him out.

I looked at the three bodies laid out around me and smiled at my work. I waved my hand in the air and saw the three children of Apollo walking by again, then me jump down from the tree and saw the whole battle i'd just had from a different perspective. Even knowing what was about to happen I still had a great time watching it, the only annoying part was when I spared the last boy. I wanted to go and take his life after the vision of the past faded but there was no honour or sense of victory to be had in killing an unconscious demigod, so I walked back towards the camp.

Looking at the camp from the vantage point of a nearby hill I couldn't deny that it seemed like a happy and joyful place, the exact kind of place I hated. I headed to a building a fair distance from the cabins, obviously a home for the camp leaders. I wanted to see what this centaur - Foaly, a child of apollo had called him - wanted and why it was so important to send armed hunters after me, and I didn't believe they'd had their weapons in hand because they'd thought of it themselves. The walk was very short which was a relief after my journey through Tartarus.

I arrived at the big house and didn't bother knocking as I entered. I was pretty adept at telling wether or not I was alone and this house was empty so, naturally, I decided to find out what secrets this place kept. I scouted around a moment to see if there was anything worth looking at but my search came up short. I then moved up into the attic and was quite shocked at what I saw. The whole attic was a museum to greek heroes of the past. I look around and picked up ancient weapons, pieces of armor and other items of great value to those who viewed greek heroes as great. The more I looked around the more I found and was impressed.

I went to the window and picked up a folded white sheet. The tag read:

'_Sail belonging to the great hero Theseus, who slew the Minotaur. This was the very sail he intended to fly after he'd killed the beast…before he forgot and made his father commit suicide. Obtained from Sea Hollow Cave by Carmen' _I wondered, for a second, which joker had written the part about him forgetting, before wondering what Sea Hollow Cave was and finally who Carmen was. I put the sail down as I heard the front door open and the stomp of hooves on the wood flooring.

I descended the attic stairs and greeted Foaly, who didn't seem surprised to see me coming down from the attic (or just hid it well). He gestured me down as if he were in a hurry and pushed me into a nicer part of the house with leather chairs and a fireplace which Foaly lit. He stood a fair distance from me and stared into my eyes, trying to read me in some way, I was confident he'd get nowhere, I knew how to do it and how to counter it. I gave some subtle signs that I had a few secrets to hide on purpose so he'd try and gently pry them out of me, which he did to my expectations.

He turned his attention away from my eyes and stared at a picture of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades upon the wall.

"You use a scythe" he commented

"And your a horse" I retorted

"Half-horse" he corrected "and I was making a relevant point"

"As was I"

"What point might that be?"

"That you're a horse" he sighed and turned to face me again.

"I actually have something serious to say" he looked a little confused and asked

"What's your name?"

I contemplated wether or not to give him a fake name but decided it didn't matter either way so I replied honestly

"Morwin" I told him

"Interesting" he scratched a little beard he had under his chin "an unusual name"

"So is Foaly" I told him "although not got a horse, I suppose"

"Centaur" he corrected again "but that's not my point, neither is your name. It's the scythe. Which Titan wielded a scythe?" he asked me, knowing a knew the answer

"Atlas" I said sarcastically "or was it Prometheus?" I scowled at him

"It was Kronos" he told me, ignoring my sarcasm "my father"

"Kronos is your father?" I sat forward

"He is father to all centaurs, but it doesn't mean we don't dedicate our lives to opposing him"

"You fight your own father?" I sat back, acting as if he disgusted me, but centaurs fighting Titans was nothing new to me

"I try to prevent anything he plans in any way possible"

We both stayed silent a while before I spoke again

"Why did you want to see me, and why were those campers armed?"

"They were armed for safety" he shook his head "probably not the smartest of moves. But you, I wanted to see how you were, after a night in the forrest"

"Not the first" I replied, but he'd already figured that out

"How long have you been on the run?" he asked, trying to open me up

"Long enough" I grunted, not intending to tell too many lies

"Well, we should both get going, you have training and I have work" I got up and began to leave, with pleasure before Foaly called me and I turned back around

"I'm sure you'll be claimed soon" he assured himself as much as he did me "and my bet's on Ares" he smiled at me, as if he'd just shared something personal, so I returned the smile, scowling after i'd turned back around.

I was sure he had his suspicions but all evidence he had pointed to me being a son of Ares. I wasn't the nicest person at camp by a long shot and I was pretty sure he knew what i'd done to those three Apollo campers. Even so, I had to keep as incognito as possible until my task was revealed by my father, the Titan Lord, Kronos.


	5. Chapter 5 - Capture the Flag

The Son of Kronos - Chapter 5 - Capture the Flag

The majority of the time Camp Half-Blood was as fun as bird watching, which is to say, not very. The only part I actually took pleasure in was the training. The tasks everyone undertook during training at Camp Half-Blood weren't very difficult and i'd been pressed much harder when training to serve my father. Nevertheless, it was a chance to sharpen my skills and learn valuable information about the demigod residents at the camp. I believed in knowing my enemy and, even though I doubted that these Greeks would ever be a challenge, I kept my eyes and ears open, searching for their weaknesses.

The week came and went, nothing especially interesting happened. I never slept in the pathetic excuse for a cabin that was assigned to the children of Hermes, yet I couldn't help but notice over half the demigods who slept there were not children of Hermes. I turned up at the training grounds for training and sat by myself when eating but that was about the only communication I had with anyone else. No one ever came into the forrest, probably because of how quickly word had spread about what i'd done to the Apollo children who'd come looking for me. As much as I chuckled every time I remembered, and sometimes watched, that battle I had to give them their due credit. They wanted to get me to Foaly and to Foaly I went that day.

I rounded up another session of what I liked to call 'play fighting' and was about to retreat off back to the woods when someone grabbed my shoulder. I sensed no danger from the boy as I turned around, scowling at him purposefully. He stared for a minute then visibly shook it off and said

"Capture the flag tonight" he sounded excited "we're with Hephaestus and Apollo" I pondered a moment and then asked

"So we're against the Ares cabin?"

"Yes" replied the boy, with his head drooping as he looked scared of what they could do

"Good" I smiled and patted him on the shoulder before I took off. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the Ares cabin. They were supposed to be the toughest bunch of degenerates in this camp, yet i'd seen them train and didn't think they were as good as people gave them credit for.

I was about halfway to the relaxing sanctuary of the forrest before I turned round to hear the sounds of steel weapons clashing. I'd shown little of my true combat potential in training in case I needed it in the future, but putting the runts that belonged to the greek god of war seemed like a good enough reason to show a little of what I could truly do. I watched some of the campers train a little while, particularly the Ares', then I turned my attention to the sons and daughters of Athena, greek goddess of wisdom. They seemed to be adequately skilled, but I reckoned I could take them. Time became a blur as I watched, analysing each camper individually, remembering any injuries that plagued them or mistakes they made too often for their allies' comfort.

Eventually the horn sounded and I watched the campers trudge to the pavilion for their meal, and I joined them to eat. The meal was fairly uneventful as I thought about what i'd been through since i'd started serving my father. I wondered wether or not my father would approve of the effort I intended to put into the game to come. I decided he'd probably not like it but would relish to see the Greeks pushed off their high pedestals. In no time at all the Centaur announced the teams for Capture the Flag and told us to go prepare, we had ten minutes.

I stayed sat for the first three minutes, listening to Foaly chat with his less than friendly companion. I overheard his name at long last and it was a shock to even me…he was Dionysus, greek god of wine. The only problem I had with that was it meant rampaging the camp was no longer a viable idea, though it wasn't one that ever crossed my mind. After that nice bit of information I got up to go prepare, which meant I got up to wait around for a few minutes before taking up a position. I was given a helmet with red feathers sticking out of it and just laughed as I threw it back to the Hephaestus cabin member that had given it to me. I didn't really like the blacksmiths of the camp but they were one of the strongest so I was fairly glad they were on our side.

I asked him who was on out side and who wasn't as Foaly's droning voice didn't keep me interested enough to hear the full teams on our team was: Hermes, Hephaestus and Apollo. The opposing team were: Ares, Athena, Aphrodite and Demeter. Although the numbers were about even most could see that we were on the worse team, Athena and Ares together were a lethal combination. Demeter and Aphrodite just made up numbers. The Hermes cabin was by far the largest and although the Demeter and Aphrodite cabins were almost useless they took away our numbers advantage, if they could get some two on one's then they may actually prevail, especially if that's against a camper wielding a bow that was only useful at long range.

Everybody entered the woods at their own pace and battle positions were sorted among our teams. Our flag was setup on a small sand patch in a calm river, seemingly open…until I looked up to see the greek fire traps placed around it. I listened to the plans of a child of Hephaestus which were surprisingly good. A small portion of the Apollo campers would be stationed in the trees around the flag, enough to defend it but not enough to raise suspicion about where they were within the fighting. The Hephaestus campers intended to go on the offence while Hermes split up and caused distractions. A solid plan overall, then I heard what they thought the enemy would do.

They believed Ares and a portion of Athena would attack with the others in defence, a sensible idea, but one I saw past quickly. As i engaged in a group discussion for probably the first time since i'd entered Camp Half-Blood a few eyebrows were raised.

"Ares will be on defence" I informed my temporary allies "Athena will be heading in attack round the flanks, with Demeter and Aphrodite. That way when we attack we get slaughtered." The camper that had been issuing orders before nodded his head while many others disapproved, this man may have seemed like a worthless brute but he obviously had a few brains.

"What do you propose?" he asked. I smiled and told them my plan…then we went to work.

The rules were stated and we began. As I slowly walked forward with five Apollo campers quite a distance behind me and a small group of blacksmiths next to me I fixated on the 'any magical items allowed' policy of this game. I wondered if they'd approve of some of my powers, the thought made me chuckle, as did the anticipation of the fight before me. A rustle came from my left and then from the right. Apollo campers notched arrows in their bows and got ready to fire, but I halted them. The way the bushes rustled were different than if people were planning to ambush us from them. I closed my eyes and put my hand to the ground, sensing the vibrations from my left and right…small, too small for a person.

I issued for my guard to stay where they were and went to the bush on my right, looked around and picked up a rock, then threw it back in the direction I figured it must have come from. The camper who was our self-proclaimed leader smiled again, becoming more confident in our victory. As we continued forward I shifted through my mental map of the woods and figured we were near the flag. A large bush stood in front of us and I smiled, knowing that their flag was behind this. I waved my guard to spread to the sides, Athena campers were a tricky bunch and they'd have the Ares campers prepared. The one thing they didn't count on was me, I had the whole Hermes cabin in defence alongside the majority of the other cabins. But every cabin but Ares was in offence, the fight at our base would be legendary…and I intended to be there for it.

As my personal guard covered the front flanks I burst forward into and stood alone. There was about fifteen Ares campers in front of me, out of twenty-three in total. My guard could beat eight which means I needed to take fifteen. The Ares campers chuckled as I drew my scythe and a single camper ran at me. I ducked his sword and swung my scythe behind me, grabbing the other end as I raised it high, trapping his neck on the handle, holding him behind me as the other campers became wary of me. I felt the breath slipping from the camper behind me and felt him drop unconscious. I let him go as fighting broke out from either side of me.

The Ares campers all made the rookie mistake of looking around and I dashed forward. I hit a camper on the forehead with the blunt end of my blade and he fell, I jumped a blade and then squinted my eyes, activating my powers. The world around me seemed a little slower, not like everything was in slow motion but everyone was only moving at about ninety percent regular speed…except me. I shoulder barged one camper and quickly took out the rest. The magic was draining but the small speed boost was invaluable. I knocked out as many Ares campers as I could but I was searching for one particular, who I had yet to find…their head camper.

I'd seen him train earlier and he seemed to be the only good warrior in this camp, and I wanted to take him out. I shut off my powers and shouldered the flag where my scythe should go, but was in my hand instead. I left my guard fighting their respective battles and walked back to our base. I kept my eyes peeled for foes and stumbled upon a son of Aphrodite keeping guard. I presumed he was a son of Aphrodite because his hair looked like he'd spent an hour combing it. He called out to his allies that I had the flag before I slammed him in the face, not with my weapon but my fist and he went running. I walked quickly to the stream and found the fight i'd expected. I slashed and hit my way through to where our flag was still in the ground. I stood next to it and rose the foe's flag, according to the rules it had to be placed in the ground to win.

Everybody halted as the flag hovered centimetres above the ground. I then threw the flag into the trees behind me, where the Apollo campers were based and rushed forward into the mayhem. I felt truly at peace in the fighting, slamming down as many campers I could find, looking for the warrior i'd seen to be my opponent. I eventually came across him as he wiped out an Apollo camper with his shield, his sword then hovered above the girl's throat. I noticed it was the same girl i'd knocked out a few days ago and walked over to the Ares' camper was, slamming a son of Athena in the face as I did. The Ares head camper looked pleased with himself, until I slammed the hilt of my scythe into his jaw. He went sprawling into the stream and the fighting around us seemed to stop as everyone fixed their eyes on us.

He looked mad as he got up and I let no emotion show on my face, just my usual serious and unreadable expression as he charged at me. I parried his sword and side stepped the shield bash that followed with relative ease. He stood still, his face going red as I idly kicked about the water beneath my feet, waiting for him to move again. He showed no signs of attacking so I sheathed my scythe and yawned, then he made his move. I dodged a flurry of strikes and kicked his knee as he went for a stab that would have done more than just knock me down. His knee fell beneath him and he landed on both knees, looking up at me as my fist came slamming down.

To his credit, he stayed on his knees after the hit, a good show of strength. He did the same after the next one and his nose began to bleed. I rained down the fists and he toppled backwards after the fifth or sixth, rather impressive I thought. The fighting had stopped as I went to pick up the flag. I walked over to the place I had planned to plant it but a camper from the Demeter cabin stood in the way, his legs shaking. I gestured for him to move and he nervously shook his head. I sighed and thought about asking nicely, then I just rammed the wooden pole that held the flag into his chest, he cradled himself and the fell to his side.

I used my foot to roll his body off the sand and into the water as I planted down the flag. All was silent a few seconds before the head of the Hephaestus cabin (self-proclaimed team leader) raised his sword in the air screaming victory. I watched as the cry was taken up by all our team and a member of the Hermes cabin came next to me to raise my hand, but I dragged my arm loose of his grip before he had the chance. I didn't really care for gloating but, no matter wether we'd had an unfair advantage or not, we'd still won. Or rather i'd won.


	6. Chapter 6 - Knowing the Enemy

The Son of Kronos - Chapter 6 - Knowing the Enemy

The idea of friends had always seemed pointless to me. Sharing things about your life with them and having them do the same thing with you, surely i'd just follow anybody whose life I wanted to know about, and if I wanted their opinion they'd have to be someone unbelievably important, like my father. Yet after the activity that was about as tasking as my daily warm up that the demigods called Capture the Flag I found myself with people clasping me on the back and asking me how i'd known what the enemy would do. I also found myself with a scowl from the head Ares camper as he groggily got back to his feet, I noticed he was missing a tooth.

I got rid of the first wave of campers trying to befriend me before actually giving socialisation a try. The Apollo cabin were not interesting. They tried to make everything rhyme and often boasted about the damage they'd done, conveniently missing out the part in most of their stories where they got flattened and people like me picked up after them. Hephaestus campers were quite a bit better, more my kind of people. They didn't say much, talking was a common activity in a forge, and stayed rather humble about their victories on the battlefield and actually talked more so about their defeats, trying to figure ways to overcome them.

I hung around the Hephaestus campers a while, discussing some tactics for the battlefield and such. These demigods may have been my enemies but until they knew who I was - who my father was - they would treat and help me like one of their own, a benefit I decided to take advantage of. I learned a few names but most of the faces looked similar to me. The only name that stuck with me by the end of the day was Raan. He was the head camper in the Hephaestus cabin and was a sharp witted young man. He wasn't the biggest or bulkiest of his cabin mates but he certainly didn't pale in comparison and was bigger than pretty much anyone in all of the other cabins.

When talks were over and everyone resigned to their respective cabins I retreated back to the woods. As I scaled a sturdy looking tree of my choosing the thought occurred to me that I could be against Raan next week, as well as his cabin mates and the Apollo cabin. They'd all seen what i'd done on the battlefield today and would know i'd try to outwit them should we oppose each other. A significant advantage would be lost but I was more than confident in my combat skills to fight my way out of any trap a few blacksmiths and some bowmen could conjure up.

I awoke the next morning as anyone would expect you would from a tree branch, by almost falling off. I thought about the day ahead and realised just how much Camp Half-Blood was consistent. Day after day it was always the same thing, and i'd begun to tire of it. I reeled off a quick prayer to my father, asking him to tell me why I was here and what I needed to do, hoping i'd get a reply sooner rather than later. Foaly didn't seem like a fool to me, despite running a camp of people who probably couldn't even outwit any random mortal I found on the street, yet through time my true identity would become closer to being revealed, despite the evidence that continued to grow and pointed towards me being a child of Ares.

I got up in my own time and wandered towards the training grounds to watch my enemies train seemingly tirelessly, yet I didn't see their skills improving significantly or even at all. I decided to join in, for a warm up, before taking to the woods to see if I could find anything to hunt but, typically enough, there was no signs of life throughout the large forrest that stood at the end of Camp Half-Blood. I trudged back to the cabins and knocked out a Satyr on my way when he tried to play a tune on his pipes to 'turn that frown upside down'.

Hours passed by at a snails pace, followed by days and nothing changed. No sign from my father and suspicion continued to grow. Friday came again and Capture the Flag was played again, I didn't bother playing as my mood was worsening with the time spent here. I presumed that the Hermes cabin had won again as I heard cheering louder than any sound that could ever be made by another cabin. My time at this hell of a camp was nearing two weeks before I finally got a reply from my father. I woke up on my tree, as I would've any other night and looked to the bark behind me and saw a scythe burned into the bark. A smile spread across my face as I figured i'd finally be leaving this dreadfully boring place.

I didn't have anytime to rejoice before a group of campers walked under the branch I was sat on. I recognised two of them as some of the Apollo campers i'd incapacitated last time they came here, apparently they'd replaced their third man with four different campers, making six in total. All but the two who i'd taken out before had their weapons drawn and were looking around cautiously.

"Where will we find him?" a boy in his armor asked while swinging his sword. The boy at the front laughed a little

"He'll find us," he retorted "just watch out." After he'd said that I figured it was my cue to attack. I drew my scythe and stood upon my branch a second before I leaped from it.

I expected to land behind the group and take a few out from behind but my plans were ruined when, as I hit the ground a glowing purple scythe, about six foot tall, appeared in front of the group. I stood from my group and held my scythe at my side, examining the large weapon that was enticing the group. One of them touched it and made sure it was solid and real, as they asked each other what this might be I stopped focusing on the scythe and got ready to fight. I swung my scythe and then noticed that the large purple scythe did the same. I smiled once more as I looked at my own scythe and on the hilt, below the inscription written by my father himself, was a spiral shape going in a square, glowing purple. I figured that it was another power of my scythe and swung my scythe towards myself, the big weapon followed my lead and hit the group in the chest.

I checked they were unconscious before re-focusing on the big scythe. I held up my own and a purple flash came from the shape on the hilt and the big weapon was gone. The shape had stopped glowing. I tried to re-summon the purple glowing scythe and wasn't too surprised when I was able to summon it with ease. I practiced a few swings and tried some more complicated manoeuvres which all worked, I made a mental note to test out how good the power truly was when I had some foes to use it against. I looked at the bodies around me and figured Foaly wanted to talk again. I made my way to the biggest house on the site and entered through the door, making no attempt to hide my presence.

I found the centaur in the room we'd talked before and took a seat opposite to where he was standing.

"I trust you didn't hurt anybody too badly?" he raised his eyebrow, expecting me to be impressed by his knowledge of my actions

"No more than they asked for." I retorted. Foaly nodded silently.

"You want to get out of here." Foaly started "I can see it by the way you act, and in your eyes" he looked closer as if to make a point of looking into my eyes

"I could've told you that if you'd asked." I replied coldly

"I imagine you could of." he smiled "But I know how to get you out of here, legitimately that is." He seemed proud of himself

"I think walking away is quite legitimate."

"Yes, but where would you go? Where you learnt those skills i've seen you use?"

"You want to know where I learnt them" I figured from the way he eyed my scythe

He looked around a moment, like making sure we were alone.

"Do you know which Titan used a scythe?" he asked like I wouldn't know.

"Humor me." I replied unenthusiastically as he chuckled a little.

"I'll just skip that then." he figured "But your skills are unique, as is your personality. Many wish you were more of a team player but that's not my point. If you would like to tell me where you learnt to use such a weapon I would be happy but I don't mind."

"About me getting out of here." I prompted the centaur

"Ah, yes." he leaned closer "In the attic, there is a mummy-" I thought back and vaguely recalled seeing it when I was there

"-that body is what remains of The Oracle. Go to it now, tell it that I sent you and then please return here to tell me what it said."

Before Foaly had even finished I was out of my seat, pleased to put distance between me and the inquisitive centaur. I ascended the stairs and looked at a few of the relics before standing next to the the mummy next to the single window in the attic. I stood still a few seconds, waiting for The Oracle to do something, but nothing happened. I was about to say Foaly sent me but changed my mind before I did.

"It would help if you did something." I said, nothing happened "Absolutely anything" I tried again. Nothing happened for a minute so I turned to leave, then The Oracle spoke. The sound was raspy as a green stream of mist trickled from the open mouth of the mummy.

"_A quartet of Half-Bloods shall start the quest._

_The Titan child shall achieve his aim._

_The lord of evil shall end his rest._

_Hope lies solely on the dark one's bane_."

The voice stopped as abruptly as it started and I thought about what i'd just been told. As far as I could tell that was a prophecy, which meant Foaly wanted me on a quest, that explained how he planned to 'legitimately' get me out of the camp. I headed down the stairs without hurry, looking disturbed as I sat back down across the centaur who studied my closely. After staring for a sizeable period of time he spoke.

"Did you get a prophecy?"

"I hope not" I kept up my pretence as Foaly looked interested

"What exactly did The Oracle say?"

"_A quartet of Half-Bloods shall start the quest._

_The Titan child shall achieve his aim._

_The lord of evil shall end his rest._

_Hope lies solely on the dark one's bane_." I recited and then Foaly looked more disturbed than I could ever pretend to be.

He paced the room on his four hooves, looking at me overtime he turned, opening his mouth to say something before deciding against it. Eventually, I tired of watching the centaur pace and got up.

"I'll go get my group then." I turned to leave

"You plan on going?" he asked me

"You heard it, '_Hope lies solely on the dark one's bane_.' I need to find out who the lord of evil is, who the Titan child is and find the bane upon which I understand our only hope lies on." With that, I left to try and find three demigods I could actually stand enough to travel with.


	7. Chapter 7 - Team Choosing

The Son of Kronos - Chapter 7 - Team Choosing

I stumbled out of the big house barely able to contain the joy I felt. After being in this camp for so long with enemies, feeling like I was rotting away doing nothing of any use, now it all seemed worth it. I had a prophecy that told me I would succeed in raising my father from Tartarus. How, exactly, I had no idea, but if The Oracle told the future correctly, which Foaly certainly believed it did, then I would soon resurrect my father. The only worrying part was that he had some sort of 'bane' that would be a source of hope for the demigods.

However, I didn't worry too much as I would be leading the quest to find this item that people think would be the Titan Lord's bane. The thought that something could defeat Kronos, the Lord of time, was almost laughable to me, but as it was in the same prophecy that said I would resurrect him I had to believe there was at least a silver of truth to it. I pondered the prophecy as I walked over to the cabins to assemble my team. About halfway, when I stopped pondering I realised I had no idea who i'd take with me. I had no people to consider as friends and never planned on making any.

I needed three people to join me and make a quartet and had nobody in mind, no comrades to call on, because I simply didn't need them. I walked a bit slower and thought of who to pick, I needed three people I could easily betray when needed but were strong enough to keep things running smoothly until the time to raise my father came. I reached the cabins with still no answer and leant next to the door of the Hermes cabin, looking at the twelve cabins and wondering who to pick. The door to the Hephaestus cabin opened and Raan stepped out, shouting back to his cabin-mates inside, trying to be heard over the clanging on steel on anvils. The door closed and he let out a chuckle then wiped his head and began to walk before he saw me.

He came and leant on the wall next to me, then looked closely at the creases on my forehead.

"What's got you thinking so hard?" he asked. I looked at him for the first time and told him about my visit to The Oracle and the prophecy i'd received. He thought a minute and then quizzed me.

"Do you know who the lord of evil is? Or the Titan child?"

"You're kidding right?" I scoffed "The lord of evil is Kronos. I expect the Titan child is a child of a Titan, big surprise. Probably Hyperion or someone."

"It could be Kronos's child."

"Nobody in Tartarus could have a child, not even the Lord of Titans himself" I said a silent apology to my father for arguing against his case.

Raan nodded and thought a little while, then he looked back to his cabin door and the to me again.

"Morwin?" he made sure I wasn't lost in thought

"Yes?" I replied

"You say you have no idea who to take?"

"That's right"

"I'll come." his fingers danced on the handle of the hammer on his belt "If you want me to I mean." I looked into his eyes before replying. Raan was the head Hephaestus camper, head campers did have a reputation for sticking up for what was right in their views but I wouldn't expect many people to volunteer to quest with a new arrival to the camp who'd beaten a bunch of people up and was going on a quest where (when translated into understandable english) a child of a Titan would rise Kronos.

I expected to see fear in the eyes of Raan, thinking his fingers danced on his hammer out of nervousness. But when I looked deep into his eyes I saw a fire, blazing as strong as any forge in the Hephaestus cabin would ever burn. I saw he wanted to fight. He wanted to prove that he did more than make weapons for heroes, that he could use them and maybe even be a hero himself. The idea of taking Raan just to betray him seemed wrong at first, like betraying somebodies trust was wrong in itself. I was going to decline before I realised, anybody I took would have to trust me eventually, and the look on Raan's face as I rose my father, he being the one who first trusted me, believed in me…that would be a priceless memory I could feast myself on for years to come.

I smiled at the thought of his expression as my betrayal sank in and then snapped out of it. Raan was smiling too, it looked strange on such a big man, as if he wasn't supposed to smile. He clearly mistook my smile for gratitude as I replied.

"I'd be honoured to have you join me." he shook my hand to seal the agreement and told me he'd try to find two people he could trust to join us. We decided no Hermes campers and no more than one camper per cabin, despite how Raan tried to argue for more blacksmiths to join us. After about an hour of walking through the camp, deciding, we chose to have an Apollo camper on board and a member of the Athena cabin.

Raan went off to go find a member of the Apollo cabin who he trusted and was crazy enough to join us, but in a cabin full of singing poets there certainly wasn't a shortage of crazy people. Meanwhile, I was left to find a member of the Athena cabin to join us, but I had a plan that I planned to use when we ate. I practiced in the forrest, sharpening my skills for the quest I was about to undertake, knowing this is why i'd been trained and that i'd need all of my skills in order to prevail and raise my father from Tartarus. The horn blew and everyone gathered around the pavilion to eat and make offerings to the gods. I thanked my father for finally revealing the reason I was here and gave him my word that I wouldn't fail him, i'd complete my quest no matter the consequences.

I ate with the Hermes cabin reluctantly and waiting almost endlessly for the feast to end. When it finally concluded and everybody got up to go back to their cabins I rushed over to the table where the Athena campers ate. As they were getting to their feet I scanned the table and pointed at a girl, probably about fifteen, a year younger than me, and about the same size as me. She looked rather suspicious of me but came when I told her that I had something important to tell her. She stroked a strand of auburn hair out of her face with an unimpressed look as she scanned me for signs of danger, I thought the scythe would've been the main one but apparently there's more you have to look for.

I almost chuckled when I told her the prophecy and watched her jaw drop halfway to the floor. I got about the response I expected, I was called a lunatic for even considering embarking on this quest and that she'd have no part in it. I thought back to my training and remembered a single sentence i'd been taught that had stuck with me and could help me in this very situation. Prometheus had once taken me to Mount Othrys during my training and told me 'You cradle that scythe like it's you're only weapon, young one. But I tell you truthfully, despite the bite that scythe can give your opponents, nothing is sharper than your tongue.'

Prometheus' words rang through my head as the Athenian camper, who I was told went by the name Elizabeth. I took a deep breath in and gave the best morale-boosting speech I could muster up on the spot. I can't remember exactly what I said but i'm fairly sure it was to do with the world resting on the shoulders of me, Raan, whoever he chose and that we needed a brain to guide the operation. Apparently Athenian campers are just as susceptible to flattery as you'd expect somebody in the Aphrodite cabin to be.

I spent the majority of the rest of the night telling Elizabeth about the plans I had, which weren't falsifications, I had a feeling I knew exactly what my father was going to give me to help with my quest, and I was right. Eventually, Elizabeth went to her cabin to pack for the quest we'd embark on the next morning, presuming Raan had secured a child of Apollo to join us on our quest, but I had faith, not particularly in my blacksmith comrade but in the foolishness of the children of the sun god. I retired to the forrest and climbed the tree I always slept in, tracing my hand over the scythe marked into the bark, the symbol of the Titan Lord, Kronos.

Sleep came fairly easily that night and I was excited when I awoke. It occurred to me that I might actually need some supplies for my quest, but since I didn't plan on actually carrying anything i'd have to use a bit of my powers as a demititan to hold my equipment. I scaled down my tree and headed to the Hephaestus cabin to find Raan. Some of the campers were still asleep and the rest were out training. I didn't find the camper who would be accompanying me on my journey so I explored the forge, examine some of the forged weapons as I walked. I picked up a sword and swung it a little, it was well crafted and since it was always good habit to keep a backup weapon, that lesson had been beaten into me by Atlas who could still dish out advice when holding up the sky, I decided to keep it.

To store equipment without physically carrying it i'd have to use a power I didn't use often and didn't like using very much. It had its clear advantages but, if under too much pressure, I wouldn't be able to use it in a hurry. I held the sword in one hand and held my other hand out in front of my, trying to send my power into the air around me. I felt the power flow out of me and directed it to the sword, which quickly disappeared. I practiced summoning it back a few times and then sent it away a final time. I hoped I wouldn't need it in a dangerous situation incase my power wouldn't come through, but I had enough confidence in my skill with my weapon of choice, the scythe, to believe that I wouldn't need it in battle.

I scouted around the forge of the blacksmith demigods and took some possessions I thought I might need on my journey. I picked up a selection of weapons, most of which I couldn't use to a great standard and far too many to ever be practically used in battle, but I believed they could be handy if something needed throwing or disarming a trap. I also took a few gadgets I found around, most of which I didn't think I could use but again could be useful for something other than what they were designed for. I strolled out of the cabin as one of the few sleeping campers began to stir. I got about five steps before a boy walked out of the Apollo cabin and walked over to me, like he was waiting specifically for me.

He had his bow slung over his back and a hunting knife strapped to his waist.

"You're Morwin right?" he asked me, like he actually needed an answer.

"Yes, is there a point to this?" I replied

"I'm Vern, Raan told me that you needed me for a quest." I stared in disbelief a minute, this small, wimpy kid was who Raan had chosen? He was undoubtedly an idiot though so I decided that he hadn't chosen too badly.

"I don't really _need_ anyone, i'm just told I need three helpers" I told him firmly.

"Well then i'm here to help." with that he practically danced off to do whatever it was demigods from Camp Half-Blood did minutes before they left for a quest.

I walked around a little while before setting a course to the big house to speak to Foaly one last time. On my way I found Elizabeth who had a rucksack on her shoulder and decided to accompany me. I scowled and told her I didn't need accompanying but she reasoned that since we were off an a quest that would take countless days I might as well get used to it. So, against my will I walked with her to the big house. Inside I found Foaly, as I had expected and Elizabeth waited outside. I had a quick chat with Foaly who was all but forcing me to get moving, he either didn't want me around (mutual feelings there) or wanted me to save the day quickly, which wouldn't be happening anytime soon.

I left as I was urged out of the door and pointed to the hill that stood on the top of the camp, I could vaguely see Raan and Vern talking at the top. On our way up the hill Elizabeth told me how unusual it was for a demigod who hadn't been claimed to embark on a quest, but she presumed i'd be claimed soon. when i'd made my mark, and with that we reached the top of the hill. I suppose the quest officially started then but, just to stop everybody, including ourselves, think the whole quest was a joke we later decided to declare its beginning once we defended the hill, due to Vern's comments mainly.

As soon as we reached the top of the hill Raan spoke.

"Ah, Elizabeth." he shook her hand "Good choice, Morwin." Elizabeth looked a little flattered but soon snapped out of it after I spoke.

"It was a random choice." I said bluntly "She didn't get up from her table fast enough." Vern introduced himself without seeming like an idiot, to my surprise. After Elizabeth had also greeted him she told us that she'd prefer to be called Liz and that her full name was too posh to use regularly. Raan nodded and it was then Vern made probably the stupidest comment i'd ever heard, I soon learned it was only the beginning.

"Liz?" he thought "You like a lizards?" Vern looked like he'd made a fair statement, until he saw the unimpressed look on Liz's face. Raan, on the other hand was holding his hand over his mouth, struggling to contain his laughter. I looked at him and used my eyes to send a silent message '_Really? This guy?"_

Raan removed his hand from his mouth and shrugged at me, as if he didn't see the problem. He then rested his hand on Vern's shoulder - I was fairly surprised his small shoulder didn't brake - and tried to reassure Vern he'd asked a fair question.

"I'm sure she likes lizards just as much as anybody else does." he said and then gestured for us to make our way down the hill. We were about halfway down when Vern spoke again.

"I hope you like lizards more than I do." he said "One tried to kill me when I was young."

"Shame it didn't succeed." I commented dryly but Vern didn't seem to be offended.

Without anymore useless comments we reached the bottom of the hill, where our quest truly began.


	8. Chapter 8 - House of Puzzles

The Son of Kronos - Chapter 8 - House of Puzzles

I was quite surprised I hadn't received what i'd expected yet, but had faith that i'd find it soon enough, still, with faith or not I had no answer when Raan asked me where we were heading. I looked around and decided to walk forward before anybody could figure I hadn't the faintest idea which way to go, my only plan was to put the demigods of Camp Half-Blood as far behind me as possible. I walked down a few roads with my comrades silently before Vern started talking faintly with Liz behind me. I chose not to listen in but could've easily eavesdropped if i'd wanted to. Apparently, Raan had the same idea and came to take point with me as I took random turn after random turn with confidence that made me question wether or not I did know where I was going at times.

Raan mumbled endlessly as he tried to figure out what the '_dark one's bane_' was but I knew that would only become clear when it needed to be, and i'd be there to destroy it, whatever it may be. Eventually Raan gave up, thinking that Liz, being a daughter of Athena, would have a better chance of figuring it out than him. I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of anything suspicious as we walked but wasn't holding much hope, I was just walking randomly. Eventually the talking behind me faded as Liz grunted and pushed Vern away from her.

"Lover's spat?" I asked sarcastically.

"Look who's got a sense of humour." Vern replied with a sarcastic laugh.

"You'd say it otherwise." I replied cheerfully. "And I like my own voice better." I as good as felt Vern's scowl on my back but kept walking at a steady pace. I determined that Vern obviously had some sort of important problem to not be making a joke out of everything, and Liz wasn't exactly very talkative. Whatever they'd talked about it was information worth gathering sometime later.

I was about to consider asking my father for a bit of guidance when Liz gasped from behind me. I turned quickly on my heel and saw her outstretched finger pointing to a building on our right. It looked old and abandoned, it fitted in with the area, except from the black scythe burned into the side of it. Raan's hammer went into his hand within a second and Vern notched an arrow in his bow, pointing it at the ground and looking around for danger. Liz's hand went to her right side, as if looking for a weapon there, but switched to her left side as she realised her sword was sheathed there instead. I brought my scythe to my hand and pushed past Raan, to the door of the house. I studied it a second before Raan tapped me on the shoulder, he mimicked braking the door down but I shook my head and went back to studying the door.

The thick layer of dust on the handle showed that nobody was inside or they hadn't left for an incredibly long time. I ran my index finger down the centre of the door and determined it could be smashed easily but I settled on a more flashy entrance, one that would get the attention of anyone or anything that did happen to be inside. I took a step back and pointed my scythe at the door, nothing happened at first but then I willed the scythe to do my bidding and it did as I ask, shattering the door in an instant. Vern looked typically pleased with my choice of entrance, Raan shrugged like it'd done the job but would've preferred to do it himself, Liz didn't look too impressed.

I stepped inside ahead of the others and looked around, there were old stairs leading upwards and a few rooms on each floor. I signalled for Liz and Raan to take the upstairs while me and Vern explored the downstairs. I didn't enjoy putting myself with the fool that was Vern but seeing as Liz didn't harbour any nice feelings towards him and I didn't relish spending more time with her - she was the smartest of the three and had the most likely chance of sussing me out - I had to take Vern with me. Vern sped of ahead, checking for danger mainly while I did a more thorough search of the place. I checked under objects and inside the kitchen implements, after searching the stove I heard the floor creak above me and shouted a question to my comrades.

"All clear?" I was met with a quick reply from Liz.

"Nothing here" I shouldered my scythe and continued looking around.

After calling the downstairs clear me and Vern headed upstairs to join the others. I stayed mainly on the landing, letting the others do the searching for me as I thought about where to find what I was looking for. Eventually the call came from Vern, of all people.

"Morwin?" he called and everybody walked through to the room he was in. There was an overturned bed, and a few bits of debris from the roof on the floor, other than that it all looked normal.

"What?" I asked, looking unimpressed at this seemingly non-existent find.

"This isn't right." Vern said, as if the idea hadn't fully formed. He turned around and knocked the wall that was now in front of him.

"This shouldn't be here." he said, and I thought about what we'd seen from outside the house, and the downstairs. Surprisingly he was right, the kitchen was below nothing, if that wall was truly meant to be there. I remembered the scythe on the outside wall was supposed to be on this side of the building, but the wall in front of us was not far enough out compared to what we'd seen.

I grabbed my scythe from my back and prepared to knock the wall down but as I raised it Raan stepped in format of the wall and raised his foot, kicking down the middle section of it. He cleared a bigger hole with his big hands and then gestured for us to follow him through. The new room was about as big as the one we'd stood in seconds ago, no furnishing whatsoever and was just blank. Everybody looked demoralised, as if they'd expected something amazing to be here. Raan paced back and forth along the floor, trying to figure out the puzzle he was convinced was in the room. Vern looked more depressed than anybody, he needed this find, to prove to everybody as well as himself that he was more than just a joke. I almost felt sorry for the boy. Almost.

I just watched Raan blankly, thinking about the scythe on the side of the house and back to my training.

"At least the floor doesn't creak here." Liz stated sourly. I had a quick flashback to when Prometheus was teaching me and what he'd said to me the very day I left Mount Othrys 'When trapped, Young One, think like the trapped. Every trap is designed with a purpose, every puzzle is solvable. Think like you made it, how would you make the trap and, more importantly, how would it be solved.' The flashback ended abruptly and nothing had changed in reality, but in my mind all seemed clear.

"The floor doesn't creak." I exclaimed, voicing my thoughts. I brought my scythe to my hand and smashed it into the floor, making a reasonably sized hole. I used the curved end of my scythe to dig up the rest of the floor as my comrades watched, most likely thinking I was crazy.

I poked my head into the big hole and looked all around, giving a quick shout of triumph as I saw a box between in the gap between the floor and the kitchen roof. I stuck my hand in and dragged the box out. Kronos's scythe was imprinted on the top of the box, the Titan Lord's symbol. The box had a combination padlock of four numbers.

"I'll break it open." Raan suggested, but I killed the idea before he had a chance. I showed him the part of the padlock that was connected with the box, celestial bronze. He volunteered to brake the box open but even he didn't think it was a valid idea. I stared at the padlock and drew up blank on the combination, so I decided that picking it open was the best course of action.

I used my powers to summon a dagger i'd taken from the forge of the Hephaestus children Vern stumbled back with shock, he seemed pretty knew to a wide variety of powers, Liz barely noticed as her mind whirled and Raan examined the dagger before speaking.

"Is that from my forge?" he asked me. I shushed him as I tried to figure out how to pick a padlock with a number combination. Liz stopped thinking a minute and spoke.

"Who trained you?" she quizzed.

"I learnt myself." I lied "When you've got monsters attacking every five seconds you either learn quickly or you die." Liz seemed to be fairly satisfied with the answer and let me work.

I stuck the point of the dagger into the screws of the bronze on the box, hoping to remove the padlock without actually unlocking it. When that failed I examined the lock more closely and found scratched markings on the lock, a scythe shape that didn't really surprise me. I looked at the shape and saw the point came down on the second digit of the combination, currently a four. I wondered if that had something to do with the number but thought not, if it did then I was about to make a huge mistake. I drew back the dagger and rammed it through the place of the second digit in the combination. It was supposed to steel but crumbled as easily as paper, and the lock clicked open. I threw away the padlock and stood up, ready to open the box.

"That is from my forge." Raan determined. I sighed and replied.

"Indeed it is, take it then." I threw him the dagger. He caught it and slipped it into his tool belt.

"Sure you don't need it?" he asked me.

"Sure." I replied "I stole another five or so anyway." I chuckled before I was prompted to open the box by Liz.

I opened the box as instructed and what I found was a wave of dust projecting itself into my face. After that cleared I saw that the box contained nothing, just a red velvet coating. Vern sighed and returned to leaning on the wall mumbling to himself.

"Not another puzzle." was all I heard before losing focus.

"Any ideas genius?" Raan asked me. I studied the inside of the box and then the outside of it. The sizes matched up perfectly, despite the velveted inside, which gave me an idea. I placed the open box on the floor and drew my scythe. I raised it high then smashed the hilt into the centre of the inside of the box. My aim was, as usual, true and I exactly where I planned. The box began to glow an evil red colour. Liz didn't like the look of it and urged my comrades out the room, but I stood where I was, admiring the light show.

Liz tried to move me but I pushed her away and she gave in, taking cover behind the remains of the wall. Eventually, the red light died away and I looked at the space where the box had been, a purple crystal of a squared spiral laid in its place. My comrades came out from behind the wall and asked how i'd known what to do, and how it was safe.

"It's a trial." I explained "Whoever set this up wanted only a servant of Kronos to find this-" I picked up the crystal and held it in my hand "they wanted to test our brains in finding it. Then make sure we carried a sign of Kronos and made sure only the hilt of a scythe could solve the puzzle. Luckily enough, I carry a scythe." I smiled like it was a happy coincidence, nobody seemed to suspect my true heritage.

"How do you know that?" Liz asked.

"The sign on the outside of this building is clearly Titan, a sign for the followers of Kronos, maybe even this Titan child that is prophesied to resurrect Kronos. A quick test for him, if we're lucky something that will lead us somewhere will become clear. As for how I figured that out-" I began, predicting my comrades next question "I thought like I made this place. I wouldn't want any half-blood walking in and getting my belongings, so i'd test their intellect and then make sure they served the dark lord."

I was getting quite used to people buying my lies by now, and was starting to mix a bit of truth in with them, keeping them as accurate as possible without revealing the whole truth.

"So now we're one crystal better off." Vern stated. "Let's go home to our mansion and eat our pegasus-shaped cake." I wondered why he'd chosen a pegasus-shaped cake before walking out of the room, down the stairs and out of the house, walking around the building under I was staring up at the scythe shape on the wall. I looked at my own scythe, still in my hand and realised the crystal and the shape under the inscription on my scythe were the same. I looked up and found a brake in the symbol, the shape of the crystal in my other hand.

I threw the crystal into the air and held up my scythe, summoning the purple, bigger version of my scythe above my head. When the crystal aligned with the gap in the scythe burned into the wall I used my own scythe to control the bigger one and lightly push it into the gap, then let the bigger scythe fade away.

"You learn a lot on the run." Vern commented as he stared at my weapon in awe as I shouldered it.

"You wouldn't though." I retorted. As I finished speaking the wall in front of me opened up to a hole that went vertically downwards.

"I'm going to hit something in a minute." Raan growled, frustrated.

"Hit Vern." I suggested as I examined the hole. I ducked down under the wall and stood next to the hole, there wasn't an end in sight.

"Wait here." I commanded my comrades and raised my scythe as I jumped down the hole.

The scythe hook on the top of the hole and stopped my decent. I saw my comrades's faces appear at the top of the hole, looking relieved as they saw me hanging. I used my powers to summon rope to my right hand as I hung on with my left. I tied it securely on the end of my scythe's hilt and let it drop into the darkness, I heard it hit the bottom, a faint sound, meaning it had only just hit the floor. I slid down the rope with ease, stopping regularly so I didn't get rope burn. Within five minutes i'd reached the bottom of the hole to find a small pit, smaller than any of the rooms in the house. Nothing was within sight but the walls of the cave. There were some small crystals lining the walls that may have hidden clues, I decided that they were the key but didn't take the time to search them all.

I closed my eyes and concentrated, when I opened them there was a faint figure in the room with me, the last person to come here. I watched the vision of the past as the young man patted down the cave to make sure it was sturdy. He went to a switch in the wall and pressed it, opening up a section of the wall. He smiled then closed it. He looked upwards and jumped, scaling his way back up to the surface. The vision ended and I was back in the cave alone. I noticed the crystals hadn't been in the vision and looked to where the switch had been, now covered by one of the larger crystals. I tried to smash it with my hands but failed.

I wished I had my scythe but didn't despair that I didn't, I summoned a sword i'd taken from the Hephaestus cabin and smashed the crystal in a few whacks with relative ease. I pressed the switch and some of the crystals began to smash as the wall to my right descended into the ground. I peered inside to see a very small hidden room, smaller than a broom closet and about as wide. Inside was a book, the very book i'd delivered to my Father in Tartarus not long ago. I picked the book up and flicked through it. Everything about it seemed the same but it now bore my father's symbol on the front, a sign that he'd read and verified it contained all the information needed to resurrect him. I smiled and pocketed the book, I couldn't go back up and show nothing to my comrades.

I ascended the rope in about double the time it took me to come down, I could've been quicker but I wasn't in a hurry. I untied the rope and scaled my magical weapon to reach the top of the pit. I shouldered my weapon again, took the book out of my pocket and looked at my comrades, their eyes wide and hopeful,fixed on me.

"Success." I exclaimed, holding up the book that would make my almost impossible aim a reality.


	9. Chapter 9 - Blood of the Titans

The Son of Kronos - Chapter 9 - Blood of the Titans

"What's in the book?" Vern asked for the third time as I carefully turned another dusty and crumbling page.

"It tells us how to bake a cake." I replied sourly, not looking up as I continued to walk forward, engrossed in my reading. Liz and Vern went back to talking in hushed tones and I absently noticed Raan turn round and the talking stop only to start again when he looked round.

"Wonder what's so interesting." Raan murmured.

"Well he's an idiot and, apparently, she's a genius. You know what they say." I said absently.

"Opposites attract." Raan finished, putting his head down as he entered deep thought. I was going to comment further but I had little interest in Raan's opinion on the possibility of Vern and Liz becoming more than friends. My interest was made even smaller by the information that was contained in the little book i'd worked so hard to obtain.

I carefully examined a few more pages before beginning to quickly scan each page, no longer interested in all the menial information that I wouldn't need anytime soon. I passed a few sketches of monsters, mainly the most powerful known to author, who i'd not yet identified. Eventually, I found the information i'd obviously been given the book to find. I read the page containing the three ingredients i'd need to resurrect my father multiple times, the smile on my face growing wider each time until I finally believed what I was reading. I slammed the book shut and ran my hand across the front, across the scythe of Kronos imprinted on the front, then had it disappear.

I turned to my comrades. Liz, who was whispering quickly to Vern stopped instantly, I didn't really care what it was about. I had my valuable secrets so I let them have their worthless ones.

"I know what we have to do." I announced. "Well, what I have to do."

"What do you mean?" Vern exclaimed. "You're leaving us?"

"Not as stupid as you look." I complimented Vern.

"You can't leave." Liz argued

"Watch me." I retorted as I drew my scythe.

"The prophecy states that there should be four of us." Raan reasoned

"The exact words were _'A quartet of Half-Bloods shall start the quest'._" I quoted. "Nobody said anything about the four of us finishing it."

"You're not leaving." Vern growled, his hand slowly slipping to his bow.

I was shocked for a fraction of a second before regaining my senses. The shock was replaced by a quick chuckle. I looked into his eyes and then spun with my scythe, the hilt of my weapon striking him in the chest, not far below the neck. He hit the floor and the blade of my scythe was at his throat almost instantly.

"You don't get a say in the matter." I groaned, becoming slightly agitated.

"Ok then." Raan thought quickly, staying calm. "You need to go, I get it."

"About time somebody did." I said sourly.

"How about we meet you later." Raan suggested, ignoring my comment. "I take it you're leaving to get something we need, and you'll go faster by yourself. You go your path, get whatever it is you need and tell us what we can get, I imagine the Titan Lord's bane requires more than one item."

I thought a moment, Raan had surprised me with his knowledge, it seemed that Camp Half-Blood had taught him something.

"Fine." I agreed, sheathing my scythe and returning the book to my hand, flicking back to the page of ingredients. I found it easily enough and glanced at the three ingredients i'd need. The first i'd have no trouble acquiring, the second would be a problem and the third would be interesting. I decided to give my comrades the item I doubted i'd ever be able to get myself.

"Is anybody on particularly good terms with their godly parent?" I asked and the demigods all looked at each other.

"Not on particularly bad terms with my dad." Raan shrugged "Why?"

"We need Ichor." I said bluntly, looking up to the sky to check the time.

"As in the blood of a god?" Liz asked in disbelief.

"The very same." I replied.

I turned around and drew my scythe once more, ending the conversation there, silently stating that was all they needed to know. I turned round and threw an empty vial to the group, which Raan caught.

"Fill that with Ichor, then meet me in the underworld." I ordered them.

"Anyway particular?" Raan asked, still calm even with his new task.

"Hades' palace." I replied "Don't Iris message me under any circumstances and be quick." I walked round a corner and picked up the pace as I turned a few more corners before slowing down a little. I didn't like the idea of leaving those three to get Ichor, the blood of the gods, but no god was going to give me their blood, I had no doubt they could tell the difference between a demigod and a demititan easily. That was also why I didn't want to be Iris messaged. I didn't know what Iris got up to but if she happened to pay extra attention to a message between me and my comrades I didn't want the goddess of rainbows selling me out.

I looked behind me to make sure I wasn't being followed and then held my scythe in the air, above my head. I flowed my magic into my scythe and willed myself to teleport…nothing happened. I asked my father for a little help and, to my surprise, it worked. A flash of purple light erupted from my scythe and by the time i'd opened my eyes I wasn't anywhere near Camp Half-Blood anymore or even anywhere near my comrades. I was stood at the bottom of a steep mountain, a mountain I recognised well. I looked up to the top where, as usual, the black clouds swirled and grew narrower, until the top of the mountain obstructed my view of them, but I knew they'd grow narrower and thicker as they neared the top until they would hit the Earth…if something wasn't holding them back…if someone wasn't holding them back.

I started the long journey up the side of Mount Othrys - known more commonly, to the mortals, as Mount Tamalpais, San Francisco. As I scaled the mountain I remembered all the lessons i'd learnt at the top of the mountain. All Prometheus taught me and all Atlas had taught me - verbally, not physically since he was still trapped under the sky. As I thought about Atlas and his burden I remembered the toughest test i'd ever attempted. I'd been mere weeks into my training when I was sent to Mount Othrys, i'd been weak back then and overconfident, i'd believed I could hold the sky. Of course i'd failed in that challenge and Atlas rushed in to help me before I could be crushed under the weight of it, and was still grateful for the second or two he'd had free from his curse. Inevitably, I found myself wondering wether or not i'd be able to hold up the sky now. I was a lot stronger, a lot smarter and confident in my skills, no longer delusional, I knew I couldn't beat everybody.

I decided against trying to hold the sky again, it didn't seem like a smart idea considering I could be crushed under it within seconds, but that wasn't the true reason I didn't want to hold the sky. I didn't want to hold the sky because I didn't want to fail. I'd done so well in my duties since i'd left the Titan base at the top of this mountain, and holding up the sky seemed like certain failure, as much improved as I may have been. I picked up my pace and climbed the mountain as quickly as I could. About halfway up the mountain the path came to a turn, a turn that I knew led to a dragon with a fierce bite that I didn't have an intention to face. I looked forward, where the rocks jutted out from the otherwise smooth cliff and instantly made my decision. I drew my scythe and summoned the bigger and purple version of it nearby. I sliced the sharp edges of all the rocks I could see and then shouldered my weapon.

I rubbed my hands and jumped, gripping onto the, now blunt, end of the nearest large rock. I pulled myself up and then repeated the action all the way up the cliffside. Near the top I ripped my black cloak but ignored the damage, it was barely noticeable and there was nothing I could do about it but cope. I walked under what was left of the arch which once welcomed the glorious Titans to Mount Othrys and one day would again, if I succeeded in my quest. I looked around the ruins of the base of the Titans and, despite the rumble scattered carelessly along the floor, I felt at home. It was a relief to be back in this spot after being with Greeks for so long, I could feel their weakness around them, like an aura.

I walked forward, looking around for any Titans that were around, there were none to be found, I was alone…with Atlas. I approached the Titan who was on one knee, with his other foot planted firmly on the ground, giving him leverage from the Earth to keep the sky on his shoulders.

"Welcome." Atlas greeted me through gritted teeth, the way he always talked.

"I have a request of you." I told him bluntly.

"Why else would you be here?" Atlas turned to look at me. "What do you need?"

"Ichor." I stated

"Ah," Atlas's tone underwent a rare change, he was interested. "why would you need my blood?"

"To resurrect Kronos I need Titan and godly blood."

"How do you intend to get the blood of the Olympians?"

Before I replied I watch Atlas carefully switch the leg on which he was resting, then look back to me.

"Demigods are getting it for me." I told him

"Using the god's own children to get their blood, how did you get them to join you?"

"They think it'll destroy Kronos." Atlas chuckled before replying.

"Prometheus taught you well, Young One." I smiled as the strongest Titan to ever exist complimented me.

"Will you give me your blood then?"

"Prove you deserve it." A smirk spread across Atlas' face and I didn't like where the conversation was heading.

"What would you have me do?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"Hold the sky." Atlas shifted legs again. "You're not strong enough to make me blade, even with your scythe, so i'll draw blood and then take back the sky."

I felt in that moment that any other person would decline the offer, the only reason i'd survived my last attempt at holding the sky was because of Atlas saving me, if he was drawing his own blood then he couldn't rush to my aid…i'd be alone. I wanted to walk away, or hit Atlas with everything I had until he bled, but my father had trained me better than that. My father, the Titan Lord, the reason I was stood here, I had to do everything in my power to bring him back to life. I summoned another vial to my hand, one of three i'd found tied to the back of the book after examining, presumably for many of the ingredients needed for various ceremonies explained within the book itself. I put the vial on the ground beside me and drew my scythe, laying it down as well, if I was going to be crushed then maybe somebody else could use my weapon to do what I couldn't.

Every part of me was screaming in protest, sending a thousand reasons to my head about why I shouldn't do this, the least of which was that i'd most likely die. I shook my head but the thoughts just came faster, I couldn't block them out. I cleared my mind as much as I could and tried to reach the Titan part of me, the blood of my father that ran through my veins. I believed i'd hit it as a surge of power, belief and confidence flowed through my body. I quickly bent down and knelt next to Atlas, nodded and pushed upwards until my shoulders hit the sky.

As my body hit the sky and my hands bore the weight alongside my shoulders Atlas rolled to his right, away from me. He got to his knees and observed me for a minute, making sure I wasn't going to crack. He nodded, as if he'd been testing me all along before looking at the fire behind my eyes, we both knew my survival time under the weight of the sky was limited. Pain rushed through my whole body. The wave of power that rushed through my body before lasted about half a second after I bore the weight alone, the clarity of my thoughts lasted about a tenth of that time. However, I was very proud to say that neither of those were the shortest statistics of my opinion of my time under the sky. The shortest statistic was my want to stay under the sky, which never actually existed, I reminded myself to have a dry chuckle about that later, but I lost the thought in the chaotic mess of my mind instantly.

I pushed all my energy upwards, against the sky but it wasn't nearly strong enough, I felt my strength fading. I looked to Atlas, who was now just a black silhouette, crumbling at the edges. He'd got himself a javelin out of nowhere and stabbed it into his hand, but it bounced off. He turned to me and chuckled.

"It's like stone." It took me a minute to figure out he was talking about his skin. He hastily hit his hand in the same spot again and again, trying to draw his blood as fast as he could and take back the sky. I later realised that Atlas had no desire to hold up the sky, but didn't want me dying under it. In a strange way it showed he cared, if I fell the sky would hit the Earth and everyone would probably die, not a problem for Atlas as he lived in a world of practical hell. Yet he was hurrying, to save me.

Any doubts I would ever have about Atlas' care for my safety were cleared up, he wanted me alive, even if it meant his reprieve was shortened. He looked at me as his javelin once again bounced off his hand. He picked up my scythe at his feet and smashed the end of his scythe into it, below the inscription and next to the symbol that gave my scythe the power to summon the bigger, purple version of it. He then slid it along the floor to me and I gazed down at it blankly, struggling to see clearly.

"New power." Atlas said as he went back to hitting his hand with his weapon. My vision cleared and I looked at my scythe. The dark purple squared spiral was still there but next to it was a dark orange symbol, in the shape of the Earth, a sphere. I figured it resembled Atlas' burden but didn't have time to dwell on it.

I lessened the push in one of my hands to try and reach my scythe but as I did my hand slipped, forcing me to remove my other hand or break it, I chose to remove it. I'd planned to slide the sky onto my back but it instead fell, the impact sent me straight to the floor. The sky had me pinned to the floor as I was lying on my chest, I tried to get to me knees but couldn't even move my legs.

"Channel it." I vaguely heard Atlas call to me. The thought quickly flashed in my head and I grabbed it before it disappeared, a lesson Atlas himself had taught me. Everything was a power source, especially pain. He wanted me to channel the pain, use it to give me energy, transform it. I felt a rib crack as the sky pushed my further into the ground, I would have cried it out i'd had the strength. As the pain flared I grabbed every ounce of willpower I had and sent the pain coursing through my veins.

My body felt terrible…but at least it had feeling. I tried to raise my hand to grip my scythe but couldn't gather the energy. Rather than wait for another rib to crack I edged forward a millimetre and head butted the new, dark orange sphere symbol on my scythe. Pain flared through my head but it didn't feel much worse than the rest of my body. The pain was tearing me apart as the symbol on my scythe glowed brighter and brighter, getting a lighter shade of orange, just like the purple colour whenever I used that ability from my scythe. The orange light completely surrounded the scythe and then spread in a stream, from the black bladed scythe to me. It flowed into me and I felt weightless for a second. The feeling passed and the orange light faded. I still felt terrible, but considerably better than I had ten seconds ago.

I smashed my fist into the floor and pushed myself up to my knees. My back still bore the sky as my hand gripped my scythe so hard I was surprised it didn't brake. Despite how powerless the sky made me feel I knew what the new symbol had given me…strength. As I thought rather clearly it made sense, Atlas was known for his strength and the power he'd added to my scythe gave me an extra burst of it. I looked to Atlas and made him out clearly. He finally broke the skin of his hand and the golden blood poured out as he grunted in pain, it was a long time since he'd bled. He filled the vial and then popped on the cork. He was about to magically seal the wound but first wiped a bit of blood on his javelin. I watched the wound seal then he took the ichor on his finger and moulded it into a solid square…ambrosia.

The javelin disappeared and he rushed over to me, bending next to me and taking the sky on his shoulders. He told me to go but I stayed under the sky with him, looking into his eyes.

"One day, you shall be freed from your curse." I vowed to him before letting go of the sky.

I rolled out from underneath the black spiral and laid on the ground, looking up at the black clouds that had very nearly killed me.

"I don't expect you to make good on your oath." Atlas said to my right and I struggled to lift my head to see him. "But you're strong, you have potential, and if you can one day make good on your word, i'd appreciate it." I looked at Atlas with nothing but respect. The Titan that had tricked Hercules into holding the sky and not wanted to take it back had given up his freedom for me. I owed it to him to make good on everything i'd said to him.

I couldn't power my legs to make myself stand up so I gripped my scythe and felt for the sphere embedded in it, under the inscription. I found the sphere and the orange energy flowed into my hand and around my body, I got to my feet. I picked up the vial and swallowed the ambrosia gratefully as my broken rib shifted back into place. It wouldn't heal fully for a while and I knew it'd feel saw for a very long time but i'd learn to deal with it, I had to. I walked to the arch under which i'd entered this sacred place and took a final look back to Atlas.

"I'll be back." I quietly promised him.

I shoved the vial in my pocket after travelling under the arch, too valuable to make disappear. I didn't know how long the new power of strength would last so I decided not to chance the rocks again. So, with only one route left, I began my decent of Mount Othrys and towards the dragon blocking my path.


	10. Chapter 10 - Rough Feeling

The Son of Kronos - Chapter 10 - Rough Feeling

The trip down Mount Othrys was surprisingly uneventful, I hoped that my father or another Titan may have been looking over me and helping a little but I truly believed that it was more to do with luck than divine intervention. I reached the bottom of the mountain in about ten minutes and fell to the floor at the base of the cliff and looked up at the sky and at the setting sun on the horizon. I noticed the rocks above me where those i'd cut the edges off to provide an easy climb up the mountain when I arrived. I managed a weak smile before closing my eyes and drifting to sleep, unable to get back to my feet when I tried.

I woke up the next morning feeling rough. I would've moaned for at least the next five minutes had I not held up the sky the day before, the fact I was still able to wake up was surprising enough. I got to my feet with a fair amount of effort and almost fell when I did, having to readjust myself to moving. I wondered how long I'd be almost useless before returning to normal and found the answer about twenty minutes into walking around randomly as I started to feel more awake and not want to fall over every ten seconds.

I thought about using my scythe to give myself strength but I didn't want to attract the attention, or use anymore of the mist than I had to. The mist kept regular mortals from seeing the truth about the world and probably why nobody had commented on the scythe that was attached to my back. I'd been told by more than one Titan that the mist was a power of the greek gods and that I shouldn't rely on it or use anymore of it than was needed to travel around myself. I headed towards a park and found a bench to sit on while considering my next move.

I pulled the vial of Atlas' blood from my pocket and studied it intently as I relived my recent time on Mount Othrys. I looked back up to the mountain and it looked as regular as mountains got, if I hadn't been up there then I may have had trouble believing the mountain was home to anything other than an few mountain goats. I noticed the bright and blazing sun above the mountain, piercing through the dark clouds that were the mist hid so well. I chuckled while I looked at the mortals around me, living their boring and menial lives, unaware that the Titan Lord Kronos was soon going to rise and wreak havoc on all these ignorant nobodies.

I put the vial of valuable ichor back in my pocket and turned my gaze towards the Golden Gate bridge. I smiled at the thought of laying waste to it myself, but then thrust such childish ambitions out of my mind. I shifted through time to try and find anything interesting that may have happened in San Francisco but there was nothing to be found. I stood up and breathed in, readying myself to go on another walk to nowhere that would probably lead to nothing when an arrow embedded itself in the bench i'd just been sat on. I plucked the arrow out of the wood and examined it.

"That's new." I commented dryly as I noticed the poison on the tip, probably the most cowardly way in which anybody had tried to kill me.

Another arrow came hurtling at me, this time on fire and I ducked down, watching it hit the concrete I was stood on, about an inch from the grass.

"That's just downright stupid." I called to the archer who I'd seen fire the arrow from across the street.

"In a park, really? Grass burns you know." The archer stood from behind the wall he was crouched behind.

"How did you know I was here?" He asked and I stared at him, surprised to discover he was serious.

"I looked where the arrow came from." I told him slowly, making sure he knew how little respect I viewed him in. He notched another arrow, no special coating this time, and took aim at me. I sighed at his idiocy and didn't bother moving as he fired. When the arrow was about a centimetre from my head it just stopped in midair.

The archer cocked his head and wondered what had happened while I plucked the frozen arrow out of the air and threw it to the ground, keeping his attention on the arrow while I pushed the poison tipped arrow carefully up my sleeve.

"Too easy to just move." I spoke as I climbed the small wall in front of me so only a street separated us.

"You'll die now, Morwin, son of Kronos." He certainly had conviction, which was the only good attribute he showed.

"You know who I am, now who are you?" I asked curiously.

"I'm a distraction." I noticed the boy in front of me for the first time, a green shawl covering his face but I could still tell he was only about twelve.

I took a second to sigh and put my head in my hands before shaking my head and lazily asking him a question.

"Distraction from what?" I kept shaking my head as he proceeded to answer my question rather politely.

"Well your comrades from your camp are in this city and my comrades are going to finish them off."

"Don't suppose you know if they are carrying blood of any greek gods?"

"What?"

"Never mind." I crossed the street and looked the boy in the eye. "You're nice. How strong was the poison on the first arrow?"

"Not poison, a sleeping mix." I smiled, letting him know that was helpful to me.

"Then I don't need to feel sorry about anything, but in future I'd prefer if it killed instantly."

The boy cocked his head again and then decided to take the risk of speaking.

"Why, you want to die?" I let the smile on my face turn into a harsh scowl.

"No, I want you to." I slipped the arrow back into my hand and stabbed it into the boy's gut, who hit the floor with a grunt, followed by a hard crack on the concrete floor. I thought about moving the body but kicked it instead, more for my own pleasure than the boy's pain. I drew my scythe and took a quick look at the inscription, tracing my hand over it, the squared spiral and the sphere. My motivation was as strong as ever but as I closed my eyes and leant against the building I was stood next to I knew that my physical strength was probably worse than ever, or at least it felt that way.

I had no idea when the feeling would fade but had little time to dwell on the matter, I had to save the useless demigods that I was forced to call my comrades. I took off through the city at a slow paced jog before coming to my senses and realising where they'd be, the exact place i'd choose for an ambush…the Golden Gate bridge. I sprinted off towards the bridge and was pleasantly surprised to see that I could still sprint, maybe I was in a better condition than I felt. As my energy ran low I touched my scythe on my back and pressed my index finger to the sphere symbol and looked back to see the weapon glowing orange and energy surge through my body.

I reached the end of the bridge and instantly knew I was too late, the bridge was closed for whatever reason but I knew it was just the mist, what was really going on was much more dangerous than whatever these mortals thought. I rushed past the barricade without being noticed and stumbled onto the bridge, observing the situation. About twenty archers in total had Liz, Vern and Raan surrounded. Raan was keeping them talking and I didn't hesitate to use the time to form a plan. When the situation looked like the peaceful negotiations (well as peaceful as negotiations between enemies pointing weapons at each other can get) were ending I made my move.

I summoned a dagger to my hand and threw it high into the air, over the top of the bridge and it came back down, hitting the road between the demigods and the archers and making them all look up and the archers point the weapons at the top of the bridge, probably more than their dim witted comrade would've done. As they did so I was disappointed but unsurprised to see that the demigods took no advantage of the opportunity. I strolled in until I was about a metre from the closest side of the circle of archers surrounding my comrades. I dropped my scythe into my hand and decided to bring attention to myself.

"Not going to take advantage?" I asked sarcastically.

When everybody's attention and my enemies bows were on my I slammed the flat side of my scythe into the closest shawl-covered face. I turned under a barrage of arrows and stabbed one of the archers in the stomach, who went down quickly. My boot found the face of another and the edge of my blade tasted the blood of another's neck. One fool drew two knives and ran at me, swinging wildly. I slammed the hilt of my weapon into his chin and swiped his feet, I almost kicked him in the head to knock him out but slashed him across the chest instead.

I looked around for more people to fight but saw that the demigods had managed to knock out the rest of the group, none were dead though, unlike a few of those i'd fought. I noticed Liz looking at some of the critically wounded behind me but she decided not to comment. I greeted my comrades and told them why i'd come here in the first place, to get the blood of the Titans. They wondered how i'd done such a thing so I told them i'd just cut if off Atlas when he was under the sky, but I couldn't help myself feeling bad as I lied about the Titan I'd vowed to save. My comrades told me their story in return, in short they'd just asked Liz's mother, Athena for help and she'd told them to go here and see if they could enlist Poseidon's help.

I looked around for a minute and then realised where we were stood, on a bridge…above water.

"Where did Athena say to meet Poseidon?" I gulped.

"On this bridge, I think." Raan told me. I held my breath and then the bridge began to shake. I shouted at my comrades to run and joined them in fleeing the reached the beaches within a minute and the bridge stopped shaking instantly. I was quite pleased that the miniature earthquake had stopped, until the waves began to rise. I quickly urged my comrades to run and told them to meet me at the park i'd been at earlier. Thankfully, they obliged and I was able to face the greek god of the ocean myself.

The water rose into a human form and Poseidon stared straight into my eyes, I returned his gaze.

"Why shouldn't I kill you right now?" The god growled, but his words still sounded smooth, like a calm sea.

"Because you need Kronos alive." I told him and was met with a laugh.

"Why?"

"The dark one's bane." I said simply and Poseidon's sea green eyes widened.

"How do you know about that?"

"The prophecy, Kronos needs to rise so that you can all use the dark one's bane to finish him once and for all, making sure he never rises again." Poseidon stared at me in what I knew was disbelief, he knew that what I said had reason behind it and was finding it hard to argue.

The waves behind him grew larger and the ground rumbled a little.

"Be that as it may," Poseidon disappeared into the air. "I'd rather have Kronos stay in Tartarus than have to kill him one more time." I thought about being respectful but with the combination of pure hatred of greek gods and the knowing that Poseidon was going to attack me anyway I saw little point in it.

"I suppose if you get eaten again then you'd be as much help killing him now as you did before." I retorted and the shaking increased. The water shook more and more but I stayed where I was, not wavering in confidence but unsheathing my scythe. I may have felt terrible physically but I had to do my best to get ichor of a greek god, or my father would be locked away forever.

A giant body of water rose up, as tall as the top of the Golden Gate bridge and with huge muscles, made of water but still impressive. The form was unsurprisingly bald and looked like it should've been made of rock, not water. The water creature raised its right hand, curled it into a fist and sent it hurtling towards me. I braced myself but the impact still sent me hurtling back and crashing into the flat side of a small cliff behind me. I slumped to the ground but instantly got to one knee, in the same position as when i'd held the sky. In the past twenty-four hours i'd held the sky, survived a dim witted archer, helped comrades I hated and made a promise to a Titan that was almost impossible to keep, just to get one part of the recipe I needed. I was damned if I was going to get pushed around by a god if i'd watched a Titan that could've beaten him to a pulp suffer.

Apparently the anger was all I needed to shake the terrible feeling i'd had all day. I rose to my feet and picked up my scythe of the ground and roared at the form Poseidon had taken on. I rushed towards the water, covering ground as quickly as I could. I got close to the water before a huge, watery fist smashed near me, throwing me to the ground. I saw Poseidon's other fist come thundering down towards me and tried to find a way to escape, to no avail. I had all but accepted my watery death before a blinding flash of light hit Poseidon in the face, destroying his watery face which reformed in seconds. I looked over and saw fire. Fire in the form of a man, in golden armor who looked back at me. His eyes, like miniature suns burning bright and strong. His long gold sword was strapped to his side and his hands firmly at his sides, one smoking from he'd fire a blast of light…Hyperion, Titan of light.

I had less than a second to take in the awe of Hyperion, the greatest Titan warrior, excluding Atlas, of course. His face and whole body was made of flames that were only held together by his golden armor, covering his body. Hyperion drew his sword and fired another blast of light into the chest of Poseidon with his free hand. He ran onto the water and leaped, striking the greek god in the chest and slashing frantically. I took the opening and ran forward, unlike Hyperion I couldn't walk on water, but I could walk on Poseidon. Another fist came down, narrowly missing the Titan of light and I jumped, gripping onto one of the fingers that was the same size as me. I travelled upwards as I tried to climb to the top of Poseidon's hand and eventually succeeded.

As quickly as I'd reached the top of the colossal fist it was thrust down again, forcing me to jump off and land on the god's shoulder. I pressed the orange sphere symbol on my scythe followed by the purple squared spiral and the scythe glowed orange and the purple version appeared a metre in front of me. I got near Poseidon's neck then thrust my arms backwards and swung them forward with all the strength I'd gotten from Atlas' added power. As I swung Poseidon moved his head and hit me in the chest, making both of my scythe powers fail and disappear. I remembered the first power I'd ever used with my scythe and aimed the end of my scythe at the Golden Gate bridge. I willed all my power into destroying the top of it and succeeded. The edge of the bridge hit the water and created a hued wave, knocking Poseidon off balance. Hyperion used his blade to slide at the chest of Poseidon, where he was joined to the water.

I rushed back up the god's shoulder and brought back my scythe like a baseball bat, having no time to activate any scythe powers. I thrust the scythe forward and into the colossus' neck, where it got stuck. Poseidon let out an almighty shout and shook, throwing me off his shoulder. I landed on the beach and rolled upon landing to my feet, looking for my scythe still stuck in the neck of the god. Hyperion was hit by a fist and thrown into the cliff beside me, where he quickly got to his feet and eyes the god in front of us. I looked at the great Titan warrior in awe but quickly formulated a plan before he darted forward.

"Throw me." I told the Titan who nodded with his head of flames and golden helmet.

Hyperion stood just in front of me as I ran then stepped into his cupped hands, I expected him to throw me but as my foot hit his palms a miniature explosion happened, sending me hurtling high into the sky, past the clouds. Everything slowed as I stopped ascending and the clouds turned black, not too welcoming as I crashed back through them. I locked my arms at my sides and dived towards the water. I vaguely saw Hyperion pick up his sword and start dancing gracefully around Poseidon's huge fists. I heard rumbling behind me and then looked back to see thunder heading straight at me.

I thrust my weight to the right side of myself and edged that way, narrowly dodging the blast. It could've been coincidence but judging by how quick the clouds changed colour and the lightning came I was fairly sure Zeus was baying for my blood. I ignored the fact that the strongest of gods had just tried to kill me and kept myself diving towards Poseidon. I somersaulted in the air as I got close and then landed hard on his shoulder, the watery surface shifting underneath but easily holding my weight. I rushed towards my scythe but was thrown as Poseidon's almighty fist came down again. I got back to my feet and ran forward as fast as I could. My scythe was less than a few metres away but the god had noticed me and his fist was heading towards me.

I let out a quick curse and summoned an empty vial to my hand, quickly checking that the Titan ichor was still in my pocket, it was probably the most valuable thing I carried. I jumped as the fist flew past and narrowly grabbed my scythe as I fell, dragging it downwards as I'd hoped. A large gash opened up in Poseidon's neck and the scythe stopped cutting downwards, leaving me hanging on it in midair. Everything was silent as Poseidon shook and a river of golden ichor fell down to my left. I bit the cork of the vial and held it out into the ichor and it filled quickly with little effort. I pushed the cork back in then shoved the vial in my other pocket, so I wouldn't mix the ichor. I climbed back up my scythe and up the god until I was on his forehead. I slide down his neck, shoulder and arm until I was back on the beach. I noticed that Hyperion was not attacking as Poseidon focused on his wound.

I ran to Hyperion and saw he was cradling something cupped in both hands, one on top and one on the bottom. I saw orange light inside of it, growing brighter and pulsing the longer Hyperion held it.

"Look away." Hyperion advised me and I did. I heard the sound of the light leave the Titan's hands and smack Poseidon in the face, dissipating the colossus form he'd taken and forcing him to retreat. As he did so the clouds turned back to their original, puffy white, colour. I looked at Hyperion with amazement and he looked to me, checking I was fine. He waved his hand over me and I felt great, better than usual, I was fairly sure that even my broken rib had healed. I thanked him for all his help and he told me that I should hurry and raise my father before disappearing, becoming the light than surrounded everybody.

I sheathed my scythe and compared the two ichor, which looked identical to each other so I kept them separated in different pockets. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and for the first time in twenty-four hours I didn't want to fall down and sleep. I turned around and began to scale the cliff face next to me and make my way to the park, with only one more ingredient left to collect.


	11. Chapter 11 - Poseidon's Wrath

The Son of Kronos - Chapter 11 - Poseidon's Wrath

I kept up a steady pace as I headed back to the park, not rushing. I arrived at my destination in about ten minutes and located my comrades with ease. I got a friendly greeting from Vern but Raan and Liz looked uneasy. They told me that they'd seen a colossus of water rise near the Golden Gate bridge and quizzed me about it.

"Long story." I commented as I sat on a bench that I idly noticed was the same one I'd sat on earlier. I looked up and noticed the stern faces on everybody but Vern, who was staring around lazily.

"Fine." I decided to give the demigods a watered down version of what had happened, planning to miss any parts that revealed my identity.

I was about to begin when the pond in the centre of the park started bubbling. I got up and drew my scythe, eyeing the pond. My comrades took places by my sides, Vern notched an arrow in his unsheathed bow and Raan snatched a hammer from his belt. I looked out of the corner of my eye to Liz who seemed to be defenceless.

"Please tell me you have a weapon." I said as she looked around cautiously.

"Didn't have much time to pack." Liz whispered in my ear. I sighed and summoned a sword and a dagger that I'd taken from Half-Blood Camp and held them out to her. She took the dagger and I made the sword disappear once more.

The bubbles in the pond got bigger until they were a few feet tall, then, in turn, they burst open and five warriors formed from water and hit the ground, drawing tridents as they did so. Vern let loose his arrow which bounced harmlessly off the armor that I could vaguely make out from ripples in the mannequin's body. Vern shrugged it off and drew his hunting knife, taking up an unneeded karate fighting pose as he did so. As each bubble burst more warriors took up arms next to their friends and eyed us suspiciously.

I took the time to wonder wether or not I'd be certain they were here for me, if I'd not fought Poseidon about fifteen minutes earlier.

"What actually happened?" Raan asked, still interested to here the story these warriors had interrupted.

"Poseidon has a short temper." I replied with a grin.

"What caused you to insult a god?" Liz questioned as Vern mouthed the words 'Nice one' behind her.

"He insulted me first." I reasoned. I saw the reply coming but didn't get a chance to hear it as I raised my scythe idly to my right, blocking the trident that would have otherwise cut me down.

"Attacking while we're distracted isn't very fair." I looked into the eyes of the mannequin, noticing his allies run towards us too. "But, then again," I chuckled "I don't really play fair."

Within a second of the comment leaving my lips I brought up my knee into the warriors groin and watched him double over and hit the floor, his trident leaving his hand.

"They have something down there?" Vern gasped but I ignored the comment as I smashed the end of my scythe into the warrior's skull, who then evaporated into the air around us, his trident leaving with him. I looked up and figured our opponents were about two seconds off coming into contact with us…two seconds too long for me. I sprang forward and drove my weapon into the first warrior that came near me, kicking another away and ducking under the slash of a third. I ripped through the watery chest of the first and let my scythe continue it's path, cutting down the enemy who'd tried to take my head off moments before. I looked around for another opponent and noticed the fighting around me.

Liz narrowly ducked a swipe and cut the leg of her attacker, before she finished him off Vern ran by and stabbed the warrior in the face, smiling as he did. Another mannequin leaned forward to try and stab the fleeting Vern but came to no success as Vern dodged the blow, keeping on the move, and vaulted over the warrior's back with a flip, taking off his head when he landed. I looked to the other side and saw Raan smash in a warrior's head with his hammer and turn to another. He finished off his new plaything and turned to meet another that jumped at him, spinning his hammer. Before his new opponent hit the ground I sprung into action, jumping as high as the warrior and spearing him to the floor.

When we hit the ground I held my scythe in one hand and slammed it into his face, dazing him. I then shifted my weapon downwards so my hand held it just below the blade and cut into the enemies' neck. I stood and another was jumping, I only had the time to think about what an acrobatic bunch these foes were before I spun, holding my scythe out to the side and slicing clean through the neck of the opponent. I vanquished yet another foe with a stab to the chest and bent down to avoid a stab, raising my foot to the chest of the same warrior as I rose, seining him to the floor and quickly ending his life.

I stood up straight and looked around once more, to see my comrades finish of the last of our opponents and sheathing their weapons. I returned my scythe to it's holder and looked back to the pond, in just enough time to see about twenty giant sized versions of the warriors we'd just faced to rise from it. I quickly told my comrades to run and hit thumbed the spherical symbol on my scythe, giving me a strength and energy bonus. The first large warrior ran at me, wielding dual tridents and moving faster than his predecessors. I let out a quick moan about his speed and then raised my hand, slowing time for my foes. I looked straight to avoid staring at the orange glow coming from my scythe and walked under the warrior.

I noticed him gliding ever so slowly threw the air and then, when I was bored, I grabbed his foot and slammed him into the ground, making him explode in a short burst of water. I rushed to the next opponent, feeling the magic drain my energy and jumped, throwing my fist into his face and sending him back to wherever he came from. I realised quickly that I couldn't keep this tactic up much longer and once more drew my weapon. I activated the other symbol on the hilt, the squared spiral and watched the larger, purple version of my blade come into being. I quickly knocked down every warrior that had come from the pond before deactivating both my powers, quickly knocking down a tree and running.

I reached the exit of the park as tie returned to normal and quickly looked back to see the giants getting back to their feet. I turned a couple of corners and looked for an ideal place to run to. I spotted a warehouse a few streets down before hearing voices above me. I looked to the rooftops and saw my demigod allies stood upon the nearest one. I was deciding wether or not to tell them to stay there before a trident made of water narrowly missed the three of them. I turned to see the large warriors throwing their weapons towards the rooftops. I drew my scythe and prepared to charge in until a trident hit Raan square in the chest. I slowed time for the son of Hephaestus instantly and tried to find a solution.

I'd all but given up when, thankfully, my scythe glowed blue in my hand and I looked to it. I heard a voice in the wind, all around me, the voice of Hyperion. 'Bend the light to your will and defy all laws'. I looked to my scythe and saw a new symbol, engraved next to the sphere that Atlas had placed upon my weapon. I looked at my predicament in a new way, keeping Hyperion's words in mind and cracked the problem within seconds…if my estimations were right. I believed I knew what law the Titan was referring to, based on the arrow pointing upwards. I closed my eyes and hit the new symbol.

I felt magical energy flow through my arm and then to my chest, where it spun and filled me with…nothing. I felt like I was full of nothingness and as light as air. I opened my eyes curiously and noticed I wasn't as light as air…I was lighter than it. I rose through the sky slowly, only a few feet off the ground. I willed more power to flow and it did, propelling me high into the sky. I stopped the flow when I reached ran and began to grab him before I decided to take the lazy way out. I put time back to normal and let my comrade fall, until he was a few metres from the ground. I thrust out my scythe and willed the power of my new symbol to flow out threw the end of it.

The power worked without a problem and Raan levitated in the air, his eyes widening. I lowered him to the ground let him get his footing before holding up my scythe to retrieve my other comrades from the roof, lowering them to the ground in a faster but similar way. Less than a second before they hit the ground the blue from my scythe faded to nothing and I heard a sound, like a whistle, something cutting threw the air. I turned and swung my scythe upwards, parrying the middle tip of the trident that had been thrown at me. Another came hurtling and I sent that to the side. I roared to my comrades to back up, quickly, as I walked backwards, parrying the weapons that were thrown at me.

It took about a minute of walking but we reached the warehouse without any further issues. As the doors opened my comrades slipped inside and I followed. Before the doors closed I used my new power to grab one of the tridents flung at me, turn it round and throw it back. It pierced the front warrior's right leg and, as he hobbled, I used the same power to flip him over onto his back. The doors slammed shut soon after and another trident could be heard slamming against the large doors soon after the locked.

I slung my scythe back over my back and paced the room a few seconds. Shortly after I had stopped I was questioned about wether or not I had a plan - which I did, of course. I looked around the open warehouse and kicked back onto some boxes that a quick kick led me to believe were full of nothing put polystyrene, which was right. The centre of the warehouse was just open space, whatever was there had been moved out and not replaced. After a few minutes of relaxation I stood back up and looked at the doors that had been closed only minutes before. I drew my scythe again and pointed the end towards the door, closed my eyes and then let hell brake loose.

I thumbed the arrow on my scythe and the doors flew off whatever it was attached to, straight towers Poseidon's warriors who were waiting patiently outside. The doors hit about five of the warriors but the rest jumped them easily, obviously ready for an attack. I flowed the new power on my scythe into myself and went hurtling the way of the door, stopping as the first warriors jumped it. I activated the scythe power that gave me a bigger version of my weapon and, when the warrior hit the ground in a crouch, flung my scythe round my body. The bigger version copied the manoeuvre and struck the warrior in the back, he hit the floor but didn't dissipate. I left him for the demigods to deal with and turned my attention back to the warriors.

A few giants had hit the ground already and, when I looked back, one was running almost vertically up the door and then jumped off, holding the point of his trident downwards and heading straight towards me. I easily sidestepped the strike and turned, swinging my scythe behind me and raising it into the air. It struck the warrior in the face and then reversed the technique to strike another opponent in the side of his huge, watery face. Both my strikes sent their victims hurtling to the floor and then evaporating into the air. A flying trident came at me again and I ran towards it, ducking at first as it sailed over my head and then spinning, gaining momentum to do the same thing with the next thrown trident, but jump over it instead of ducking under it.

Another trident formed in my assailant's hand and he thought he had time to throw it, he was wrong. I sliced at the enemies' left leg and brought him to his knees. From there I ran up him and jumped, holding my scythe to the side so that his ace was cut cleanly in two. I landed at the foot of another warrior who raised his trident to stab me, as it came hurtling down I activated the power on my scythe given to me by Atlas and simply batted away the trident with the extra power. From there I activated the power I'd recently acquired from Hyperion and threw him into another foe, making them both explode on impact.

I looked around to see the number of foes dwindling, a couple dealing with the demigods behind me and only about five left approaching. Seeing as I had time to spare, in my opinion, I decided to have a little fun. I began to float as my scythe glowed blue and propelled myself forward, past my enemies and cutting through the chest of one as I soared by. I rose further up and pointed my scythe to the nearest building, causing the top portion to explode and drop on three of the remaining warriors. To finish off the last one I let all my powers fade and dropped towards the ground. I began to roll in the air with my scythe held out, the spinning giving it extra momentum.

The scythe hit the final giant in the face and my free-fall stopped as his head came off and I landed on the ground, rather nicely. I placed my scythe back on my back and allowed myself a quick smirk as I smelt the sea breeze that was strong in the air around me, a sign of a good day's work when fighting the god of the sea. I turned to see Raan carefully fitting his hammer back into his belt and checking his arsenal. Liz found a place on her waist for the dagger I'd handed her earlier and Raan shook his head as he analysed the dagger, probably realising it was one I'd took from his forge. Finally, Vern just slumped down on the wall of the warehouse. His bow hit the floor before he did, his hunting knife leaving his hand when he'd began staring at the sky.

I was about a second away from telling Vern to stop slacking and get up before I noticed Liz's head slump and a weak smile flash across Raan's face.

"Get inside." I told the demigods. "We'll rest here tonight."

"No fancy hotel?" Vern groaned.

"I think I saw one of those somewhere…" I paused and feigned thinking to get the point across. "Oh yea, it was the building you all fell off."

"Hey, only Raan fell." Vern replied as I strolled inside the warehouse to try and arrange a few makeshift beds. I heard two sets of footsteps behind me and turned to see Vern still slumped against the wall while Liz and Raan slowly walked into the warehouse.

"In or out?" I asked Vern.

"There's no hurry." He replied as he shut his eyes.

"Have it your way." I said as I drew my scythe and located the door I'd thrown off earlier.

It slowly levitated in the air and then started to make its way back towards the warehouse. Vern opened his eyes long enough to see it and groaned stumbled inside the fixture. I let the door drop just outside the warehouse and picked up Vern's knife and bow. I turned and notched the knife in the bow and, when Vern had sat down against a pile of boxes, fired the knife as near to him as I could get without hitting.

"Forgetting something?" I asked sarcastically as Vern looked at the dagger beside his head and scowled half heartedly. He reached for the dagger and tried to pull it free but couldn't muster up the strength.

"Useless." I muttered as I walked over to Vern and hit the hilt of the knife with the bow, knocking it out of the box, and dropped his bow onto his lap.

I walked back over to the door and hit the sphere on my scythe, next to the spiralled square and the upwards pointing arrow and an orange aura surrounded me. I thrust my scythe into the ground with my blessed strength and grabbed the end of the broken door and heaved it back onto the warehouse's wall. I picked my scythe back up after sliding the door closed and let my strength fade, it was only then did I realise how much energy I'd actually used up. I'd vaguely saw Raan turn a corner, presumably looking for a cool place to sleep and Liz was nowhere in sight. With nobody watching I sheathed my scythe and let myself slump down onto some boxes opposite Vern. I closed my eyes and within minutes felt my body go numb and give in to the welcome embrace of sleep.

I woke up rough, which was only to be expected when sleeping in a warehouse with the only rest being a pile of old boxes. I kept my eyes closed a few more seconds, enjoying the lack of duty I had when not active, the lack of responsibility and lack of leadership. I turned my thoughts to my mission and the resurrection of my father and smiled out how close I now was. I checked my pockets to make sure I still had both vials of ichor in my pockets, Titan in the right and god in the left and, as expected found them precisely where they were before I'd slept.

I let out a long sigh and then opened my eyes, expecting to see Vern fast asleep and everything exactly how it had been left, but that was not the case. I instantly noticed that Vern was not where he'd been sleeping, which wasn't a problem in itself, but his bow was laying on the floor alone. I scanned the floor for his hunting blade and found in a few metres away. Vern may have been a bit stupid but not even he would get up without his bow when it was right next to him, nor would he move his knife and not pick it up, there was only one explanation...he'd been taken.

Fortunately Vern was not a hard kid to find, wherever the trouble was he'd be there, so I all I needed to do was wait. I picked up the bow and hunting knife and knelt down, expecting to be waiting a while but still believing it was better than looking around alone. Apparently I'd either overestimated the intruders or overestimated Vern as I heard a pile of boxes not far away get knocked over and a grunt that followed, rebelling against captors was what got you killed. I scaled the pile of boxes to my right, bow in hand and could instantly see the situation from my position. All three of the demigods were backed into a corner by a group of people in blood red armor.

I figured the colour of the armor didn't scream that they were for the gods, so they were probably mercenaries of some sort. I counted eight of them advancing on my comrades, then looked around the compound. Eight was not a recommendable number for a group of warriors, especially skilled ones who could infiltrate the warehouse and capture somebody sitting directly across from me without causing me to wake. It then occurred to me that I'd been near Vern but unnoticed, which wasn't humanly possible. As that thought crossed my mind a flash of purple clouded my vision and I took the message, my father had protected me.

As nice as help from my father was it made me cautious more than anything, if I needed to be hidden from sight then that meant that I couldn't beat these men if they got the slight advantage, maybe not even on equal terms. I finished analysing the warehouse and only saw two more opponents on top of boxes, like me, but I had my suspicions there were more. I moved silently across the boxes until I was next to one of the lone warriors. I came up behind him and gripped Vern's bow in my right hand, drawing his hunting knife in my left. I used the bow to sweep the warrior's feet and he hit the ground, his helmet smashing against his skull. I didn't have time to figure wether or not that had knocked the poor fellow out before thrusting the knife into his neck through the gap in his armor left by his head tilting downwards, resting on the floor.

I checked the fallen warrior's pockets for information and found all I needed, a contract on the head of the son of Kronos. I checked the back of the paper and read the writing. 'To the Feared 11, more to follow'. I had all the proof I needed that this group was a bunch of mercenaries and that there was one soldier unaccounted for. I made my way to the other warrior scouting the perimeter and took him out much the same way as his friend. The eight with my comrades had them at the tip of their swords and didn't look like they were in a hurry, but I didn't take the chance of trying to find their last comrade, I'd have to go in immediately.

I jumped a few more box piles to end up at just to the left of all the action, standing above all below. Eight against four, I liked my chances. Without wasting anymore time I notched the hunting knife into Vern's bow, even though I knew it wouldn't breach the thick armor, and let the knife fly, watching it embed itself in a box about a centimetre to the right of Vern's head.

"Forgetting something?" I grinned as all heads turned to meet my arrival.


	12. Chapter 12 - Warehouse of Wind

The Son of Kronos - Chapter 12 - Warehouse of Wind

I stared at the onlooking stares of my comrades as I was forced to save them from a group of (presumably) merciless bandits. I dropped Vern's bow and it hit the floor, too far away from anybody to be used in the oncoming fight. I tried to read the expressions of the warriors below but their helmets preventing me from seeing the faces of any of the eight of them. I heard laughing from one of the warriors and turned to him.

I looked him up and down, he wasn't the biggest by far but he certainly didn't look like a pushover.

"Something funny?" I smiled politely.

"Your daddy ain't gonna save ya today." He growled at me.

"Interesting." I mused. "Would you like to die first or last?"

"Come and try me if ya think ya can take me." As soon as the last word left his lips I drew my scythe and a blue light flowed through it, following my orders and propelling the warrior into a nearby pile of boxes where he ranted and raved about being unable to move.

His seven comrades stared at him until I dragged their attention back to me.

"I'd focus on me if I were any you." I commented. "Or he won't have much fun watching me kill you all." I jumped from my position and landed on the nearest warrior to me, thrusting my scythe into his skull, piercing his helmet. I pushed the air with my scythe and another warrior flew back into the boxes behind him, when I pulled my scythe back the boxes covering him slammed into the warriors left standing, knocking them off balance. I slowed time for the enemy and got to work, cutting open throats and slicing through chests until I was satisfied that I'd evened the battlefield.

Raan came up to my side as I stared down the three remaining opponents that could fight. Liz didn't have the proper equipment to fight and Vern wasn't any better equipped with just his hunting knife. One of the warriors jumped and I slashed the air. Fortunately, my scythe was longer than the foe's blade and he sprawled across the ground before he could do me any harm. I noticed blood leaking from the cut in the warrior's armor as he stopped rolling on the floor next to me. I hit the sphere on my scythe and an orange aura glowed around me. I dropped my scythe and raised my foot, using my magical strength to crush the skull of the enemy.

His two friends became enraged at my actions and rushed towards me carelessly. I ducked the swipe of the leading charger and slammed him in the chest, the power of my blow causing him to cough up blood. The swung at me without great accuracy and I jumped the blade, raising my knee and catching him in the chin, sending him to the floor. I turned to meet the previous warrior who I'd hit in the chest as he ran at me, gripping his sword weakly.

I ran faster than he did and grabbed his throat, slamming him to the ground and quickly ending his existence with a punch that flattened his skull and destroyed his brain. I heard the heavy armor hit the floor behind me as the last fighter rose to his feet. He ran at me and I didn't bother turning, I bent my knees and jumped backwards, flipping in the air and landing behind him. I didn't give him a chance to react before I grabbed the back of his neck with my right hand and pulled, separating his head from his body and dropping it beside his body as it spasmed on the floor.

I retrieved my scythe and let the magical strength fade before walking over to the warrior still trapped against a pile of boxes.

"Bet you wish you'd chosen to die first now." I chuckled dryly and then turned away, acting as if I'd spare his life before spinning with my scythe raised, slicing straight through his protected neck and quickly ending his life. I looked at my comrades at it seemed that only Raan had witness the majority of the killing, Liz and Vern were busy tending to minor wounds they'd both endured before I'd arrived.

"What was that?" Raan quizzed, an astonished look in his eyes.

"Me saving you." I replied. "If you wanted them to have better deaths maybe you should have killed them yourself." I closed my eyes and looked around but there was no sign of anymore opponents.

I scooped up Vern's bow and plucked an arrow from his quiver on his back.

"You can come out now." I stated calmly, shushing Liz before she asked who I was talking to. I waited a few seconds and no reply came.

"Fine then." I announced. I offered up a quick prayer to my father, asking him for something that could help me find the eleventh member of this group. Surprisingly, he answered as my legs gave out and I hit the floor. Raan tried to help me to my feet but I pushed him away and then my vision went purple, like it had for a split second earlier.

I looked around and everything was clear. I could see every speck of dust on the warehouse floor and read the label on a box a great distance away.

"Why are your eyes purple?" Raan asked as he backed away. I chuckled and looked around at the boxes, I willed my eyes to see through the boxes to the rest of the warehouse and they did. I could see the wall at the opposite side of the warehouse and even through that, all the way through the city of San Francisco. I focused back on the task at hand at looked in a full circle, noticing that every living being light up blue in an otherwise purple world, which made it incredibly easy to find the last threat in the building.

I noticed a couple of rats running around the building and tried not to think of sleeping around them. I notched the arrow in my hand into Vern's bow and pointed in straight at Raan, who jumped back.

"Move." I ordered simply and he stepped to the side as I focused my powers to my eyes. I could hit the warrior easily but his armor would stop the arrow just as easily so I had to find a chink in his armor. I squinted my eyes and they zoomed in on my target. I scanned him up and down and found a slight gap between his helmet and the rest of his armor. I zoomed in on it further and let loose the arrow.

I used my eyes to watch it fly and strike my enemy straight in the neck. I expected him to hit the floor instantly and that to be the end of it but he grunted at the pain and dragged the arrow out of his neck before throwing it to the ground and covering the wound with hid hand. I smiled to myself, the only worthy opponent of the whole group. I walked over to Vern who'd treated all of the minor cuts he'd gotten from being held captive and took another arrow from his quiver and notched it in the bow. I walked over to the wall of boxes that separated me and the final warrior and kicked the nearest one to me, knocking over a few of them.

I used my eyes to watch as he turned to face the boxes and, as predicted his hand went to his blade and that's when I let the second arrow fly, striking him straight under the chin and, this time, he went down as I'd thought he first would. The blue figure that he was with my new magical eyes faded until his lifeless body was purple, like the rest of the world around me, showing he was indeed dead. I turned to my comrade and examined the purple world around me a little more before Vern looked back and commented on the colour of my eyes, making me snap out of the trance I seemed to be in and cancel the flow of power to my eyes, turning the world back to its original colour and (based on Vern's comments) my eyes back to their original colour too.

I scanned the warehouse in colour and realised just how helpful seeing through walls could be.

"We're moving out." I stated and threw Vern his bow.

"Right now?" Liz replied.

"They may have backup on the way." I explained.

"We're leaving because they _may _have backup?" Vern shouldered his bow as he talked.

"They know who we are." I informed them, remembering the letter I'd taken from the first of the group I'd taken out, they know whose son I was. The demigods seemed satisfied that anybody who knew us all would not come without backup, complete egomaniacs.

I started to lead everybody towards the exit before we heard a bang on the wall on to the right, followed by another and I saw the wall start to give. I ordered my comrades out of the building and told them to meet back at the park we'd been at the day before. Another bang came and the wall parted for the intruder. I took cover behind some boxes and directed magic to my eyes. I focused on looking through the boxes to the wall where somebody had entered and saw the intruder instantly. Unlike other living beings in the purple world this man didn't stand out as blue but orange, with an aura of flame. I hoped for a brief moment that Hyperion had come to give me help of some kind but I knew within myself that this was no friend.

I watched the figure smash pile after pile of boxes before he got close enough for my liking. I shut off my magical eyes and drew my scythe, pointed it at a pile of boxes opposite my position and had them all fly apart. I heard the man instantly stroll over to where the boxes had scattered and made my move. I climbed the pile of boxes I'd hidden behind and ran to the edge before jumping off the top, bringing my scythe hurtling down above my head and straight towards the intruder's head…then it all went wrong.

The intruder turned and grabbed my scythe with one hand as my feet hit the ground. I looked up to the figure and saw everything I didn't want to see. A man wearing all green, head to toe, with little gusts of winds on every item. I stood straight and looked into his eyes, remembering how Liz had told me never to mock a god.

"Geras?" I asked sarcastically

"Very funny kid." Came the reply, sounding faint, like the man was shouting from a great distance. "I'm not the god of old age."

"Oh, Aeolus." I acknowledged the greek god of winds. "Still a minor god? How about that bag of winds, don't suppose I could give it a try?"

"Nice try kid." The minor god smiled at me before snapping open the hand in which he hadn't gripped my scythe and my legs were instantly swept off the ground.

I quickly activated my magical eyes to see if there was a weakness I could exploit in this minor greek god. The wind he was using was magical, orange like him as it blew, but there didn't seem to be any special way to beat this god, so I'd have to try my usual fighting style. I shut off the eyes given to me by my father and gripped both hands onto the hilt of my scythe, leaving my legs flapping behind me in the air. As the strength of the wind increased I used my own strength to swing my body round the scythe and kick Aeolus's left leg out from under him by slamming both my feet into it. He let go of my scythe and was forced onto one knee as the wind shut off.

He looked up at me as I brought my knee up straight under his chin, sending him flying to the floor. He got back to his feet warily and took a few steps towards me before deciding to fight long range so I couldn't attack him. He threw up both hands and the wind whipped at my body again. I slammed the sphere symbol on my scythe and used the extra strength to dig my feet into the ground so the wind wouldn't blow me away. I pointed my scythe at the god and hit the arrow in an attempt to send him flying backwards with my command over gravity but he didn't budge an inch and just grinned at me.

I let the blue light fade and grinned back, hitting the spiralled square symbol on my scythe and summoning a larger, purple version of the weapon nearby. The god's eyes widened when he saw the blade but could't move in time to dodge when I swung my over scythe sideways and the bigger version mimicked the manoeuvre, knocking the god of winds to the floor once more. I closed the gap before the god got back to his feet and dropped my scythe on the floor when I reached him, the magical strength granted to me by Atlas still coursing through my veins.

The god rose to his feet once more and I slammed him in the gut with my right fist and he doubled over in pain, a sign that he could be beaten. I followed up by uppercutting him under the chin with my left fist and, when he went soaring into the air, I grabbed his left foot and thrust him over my head, slamming him straight into the concrete floor. I grabbed him by the neck of his green jacket with my left and pulled him up so he was face to face with me, then I repeatedly slammed my right fist into his face.

I kept up the pounding for about twenty seconds before I got worn out and dropped him. He slowly got to his feet while I recuperated. I wasn't at full power when he got to his feet but charged in anyway, knowing he'd take advantage of me otherwise. One of Aeolus's hands went up instantly and I moved to the side while keeping on the move to dodge the winds but still felt their power, he wasn't try to blow me away anymore, the strength of that wind would cut my skin and brake my bones. I reached the god before he blasted more wind at me and jumped, raising my knee into his gut and watching him double over again.

I delivered an elbow to his back and he his face slammed into the ground. I raised my foot to stomp on his head but he pulled my other foot out from under me, sending me to the floor. I hit the floor hard and had to quickly bring up my hand to knock away Aeolus's hand as he attempted to send another deadly blast of wind at me. I heard boxes being cut to shred after I'd knocked the attack off course but couldn't lose focus. I scrambled to my feet and grabbed Aeolus with both hands and throw him into the metal wall of the warehouse. He rose back to his feet and stared at me, full of hatred.

He held up his hand and a faintly shimmering object appeared in his hand, a blade made of the wind. He charged me and I waited, calculating how close he'd need to be for my plan to work without him realising I was playing him. When I'd figured to the best of my ability I charged too, praying that I was correct. Aeolus swung his blade sideways at me and I ducked, stretching my hand outwards and feeling, hoping that I had calculating correct. My heart leapt in my chest and only calmed when my hand brushed the blade of my scythe. I normally would have picked it up by the top of the hilt and spun it round, but a more useful idea came to mind.

I continued to run until I felt the very end of the hilt of my weapon and then grabbed it and brought it up into the air and stopped running abruptly. I heard the footsteps of Aeolus stop as he looked at the blade of my scythe curled around his neck, covering it from every angle but behind, where I was holding it, ready to pull at any moment.

"Unless you want to go to where it is you gods go to heal for a long time with a decapitated head I'd suggest you leave, now." I spoke to the god through gritted teeth, the battle had been far closer than I'd hoped at first.

"You won't get away with this." The god spoke slowly, still sounding like he was far away.

"Leave." I warned the god.

He pondered a moment, deciding what to do. I expected him to disappear in a glorious gust of wind but instead he let out a cry of battle and I heard him turn on his heel, raising his sword to try and strike me down. I had just enough time to smile to myself sickly before taking a step forward, the magical strength I had activated helping me muster up enough power to take off the god's head in a single step forward and one pull of my blade. I didn't turn around as I heard Aeolus's head hit the floor and then a gust of wind behind me, taking away the god's head and body.

"No second chances, not for gods." I whispered to myself and Aeolus, if he could head without an attached head.

I turned to see a golden pool of ichor on the ground and chuckled.

"A little late for that." I mumbled, taking out the vial of Poseidon's ichor and compared it to Aeolus's, apparently gods, minor gods and Titans all had the same colour ichor, certainly degrading for the Titans. I pocketed the vial of god ichor again and slid open the warehouse door and walked outside into the blazing sunlight. I slid the door shut and then pointed my scythe at the door, willing energy into the door until it exploded open, sending a large bang into the air that anybody within a mile would've heard, I needed somebody to clean up the mess I'd made after all.

I strolled casually to the nearby park, nobody even taking a second glance at me with my scythe on my back, apparently the mist felt the need to cover up everything to do with danger about me, unless it could read the inscription on it. I had to chuckle to myself as I walked, wondering wether or not the mist could read, not even I would've thought that I'd decapitated a god mere moments ago. I turned a corner and the park was in clear view, just like the demigods unconscious on the grass. I sighed to myself and walked to the door of the nearest building and read the sign, though the only word I took notice of was 'bank'. I looked up and tried to figure why a bank would need about fifty floors to it, but let the thought disappear as I realised the roof would be a perfect place to scout for danger and so I went round the back and kicked in the door.

An alarm went off as soon as the door broke open. I walked over to the adjacent wall and smashed the power box with my fist and the walked through the door beside it and began heading up the stairs in the next room. I peered over the edge and looked up to see as many flights of stairs as their was floors to the building and slowly began my ascent.

"One thing after another." I grumbled as I stomped up the stairs. "Useless demigods." There was a door after every two flights of steps and behind each one I heard screaming until i got about twenty floors up, where it got even worse.

I reached the end of another uneventful set of stairs and noticed there was no screaming on the other side of the door, so I chanced a look through. I saw all the workers either unconscious or dead on the floor, some of them in pools of blood but I couldn't tell wether or not they were from fatal damage or not. I sighed, getting sick of all the surprises and, instead of sneaking around to look for danger turned to the door and slammed it shut as hard as I could, an act that would bring the attention of anybody on the floor. Surely enough a few men appeared from around a corner, each dressed in a suit carrying a pistol.

"It's typical enough for me to walk in on a bank robbery, but the mafia? You guys are kidding."

I didn't get a reply before the pistols were raised and aimed at my head. I lazily brought my scythe to my hands and pointed it at the roof, which exploded down onto two of the men. The other two stared at me in horror and I shot them a mocking smile before pointing my scythe at them and using my power over gravity to send them flying into the wall behind them, knocking them out as they hit the floor. I was about to turn and leave before I walked over to the unconscious bodies of all four men and picked up their pistols, taking the ammo clips of three and dropping them but keeping the fourth. I decided not to make the gun disappear incase I needed it in a hurry, if I had to make it appear from nowhere I may not do it in time so I put it in the back of my belt and made the ammo clips disappear after failing to find room for them.

With a new weapon in my arsenal I left via the door I'd entered by and continued my ascent of the hellish building that the good people of San Francisco had dared call a bank.


	13. Chapter 13 - Brotherly Bond

The Son of Kronos - Chapter 13 - Brotherly Bond

I climbed the next thirty or so floors without any more interruptions and burst onto the roof of the bank. I looked down to the park and still saw my comrades laying undisturbed and unconscious on the grass, obvious bait. I instantly activated my magical eyes and the world turned purple, with all the civilians standing out as a bright blue colour. Nobody on the street level seemed to preparing an ambush so I set my sights on the rooftops.

I counted the number of foes I could see with their sniper rifles set on the park and the number totalled off at four, all on rooftops and in a square, the best swear they could form via rooftops anyway. I turned off my sights and heard the door creak open behind me, but no footsteps followed, somebody was about to attack me. I closed my eyes and still heard nothing, the person was obviously a professional, so I needed a good plan which came to me after deciding against every other plan.

I opened my eyes and scanned the surrounding area lazily, pretending to be engrossed in the task but really focusing my attention on the foe behind me. I waited and waited but no one made a move against me so I realised they must be waiting for me to turn around. I grabbed the hilt of my scythe and lowered my head, making myself look like I was in deep thought. I waited for the time I would've made my move, after waiting to see if the target really was in thought, which from the outside I certainly seemed to be.

Eventually the assailant made their move and I turned, swinging my scythe towards the attacker, forcing them back a step and took up a battle stance. I took a single look at my opponent and was surprised, it was a slim person who didn't really seem like a skilled fighter but I could certainly understand why they could sneak so well. Yet most surprisingly…the attacker was a woman.

"You're a woman." I commented obviously.

"Time for you to die, son of Kronos." The woman replied viciously. I raised my scythe in answer and a blue light flowed through it, flying directly towards the woman.

The attacker was seconds away from being thrown off the building before realising that standing around wouldn't help anything, she threw herself to the floor and came up swinging with dual daggers. I blocked the quick swipes and ducked the final strike of a failed combination before counterattacking with the hilt of my weapon. The woman was driven back a step and snarled before leaping at me, daggers twirling viciously. I jumped into the air and my scythe glowed blue as I manipulated gravity itself to keep myself hovering above my opponent.

The woman leaped upwards, daggers flashing faster than the human eye could keep up with, but not a single swipe touched me. I closed my eyes and sighed, when I opened them again I saw my foe scowl as she noticed my eyes, a deep purple. I touched down on the grown gently and sheathed my scythe, it was too slow for this opponent. The woman ran at me and began swinging, but my eyes, a gift from my father Kronos, Titan of time itself, were able to keep up easily. I could anticipate every swipe of her blades as soon as it started its path of destruction towards my body.

I dodged each swipe easily by simply moving my body, not bothering to raise my hands in defence. I let her finish her combination of strikes before raising a single eyebrow, a silent signal asking her if that was all she had. A vile snarl erupted from the doorway behind me and the woman smiled as I let out a quick, unimpressed sigh. I turned to see a wolf-like creature at the doorway, its eyes yellow, like a cat's.

"That's more like it." I complimented "At least you're trying now." Apparently mocking my opponent's lack of effort was insulting as she raised her hand, a signal for the beast to strike.

The beast was quick, but clumsy, and clearly thirsty for blood. The beast lunged at me and I leaped over it easily, no need to use scythe powers when I could clearly see what it was going to do and counter. The beast reared back and roared and the purple air I was looking at changed to an orange colour, the colour of magic. A blue shape moved to my left and I ducked a chain of swipes from the woman. I got tired of playing the little ambush game that had been setup for me so I formulated a quick plan and then got to work.

The beast ran at me and I lifted my knee into its chin. The wolfish creature reared back and I lunged forward, bringing my right fist into the side of the beasts face and sending it sprawling across the rooftop. I turned to meet my other opponent and raised my foot into her gut, making her stop in her tracks and drop her weapons. I slowed the flow of time and grabbed one of the daggers and stabbed it into her arm before dropping it again. I let my magical eyes fade and time return to normal. I slammed the woman in the gut a final time and threw her into the direction of the beast that had rose once more. I turned around and leaped off the rooftop, reaching backwards to tap my scythe and make me hover in the air.

I watched the woman get devoured by the savage beast before summoning a sword from Raan's cabin and propelling myself forward and thrusting the weapon into the creature. An ear piercing howl filled the air and a huge claw came towards me. I ducked the blow and brought my knee into the beast's gut. I withdrew my blade and slashed the beast's chest, opening a large gash across it's chest. The wolfish creature lunged at me and I rolled to the side, barely dodging the attack. The beast surprised me by quickly changing direction, swinging around its huge paw as it did so. I was regaining my balance and didn't have the time to move again, so I willed time to slow and it obeyed my command just in time. The claws that glinted on the edge of the creatures paw collided with my blade and sent it spinning across the rooftop, but my power kicked in and the attack didn't reach me before slowing down, allowing me to counter.

I considered drawing my scythe, but when time returned to normal I knew it wouldn't be fast enough to strike the beast, unless I did serious damage now. I took the risk and unsheathed my favourite weapon, slicing the right leg of the creature that was turning in slow motion and then stabbing it in the chest. Time returned to normal and I thrust my scythe's blade through the creature's left arm, hoping to stop the power that was being put behind these blows. Unfortunately, none of my blows even seemed to be felt by the beast who just carried on with his attack pattern, jumping at me and swinging his claws as quickly as possible. I let the beast continue with this pattern a while, getting used to dodging it before hitting the arrow symbol on my scythe and sending it sprawling. I ran forward as the beast got up, swinging for the monster's head, but it moved too quickly. It strafed around my legs until it was behind me and began to leap for me from behind.

I hit the globe symbol, a gift from Atlas, on my scythe and an orange aura quickly surrounded me. I extended my leg backwards, sending it straight into the wolfish creature's face and I heard a crack. The beast rolled and howled in pain but got back to its vertical base, knowing I wouldn't hesitate to kill it if given the chance. I shouldered my scythe and let the beast run at me, my superior strength giving me the edge, but the beast dodged my strike and rammed itself into my chest, sending me into the small wall that stopped people falling straight off the edge of the building. The wall seemed to take more damage than me, I barely felt the impact with my orange aura surrounding my body. I got up and backflipped when the beast charged again and landed on the wall, not much space to move but that was a bigger advantage to me.

The beast didn't seem to realise what I was doing and swung at me, but I barely had to move to dodge the blow. I kicked the beast in the face and once again I heard the monster's tough skull crack. As it whirled in pain I grabbed the creature's hairy body and threw it, over my head and into the park below, where my so called friends were laying unconscious. The creature didn't get back up. I closed my eyes and concentrated and when I opened them again I looked around, finding the snipers and other people nearby highlighted in blue. The snipers seemed to be running down the staircases in their respective buildings, but why? I thought I may have scared them off, but they were long range, how could they know whether or not I could take them out from so far away.

I dropped down from the ledge and picked up the sword I'd dropped, making it disappear again. I walked down the stairs casually, acting like I belonged and not even looking into the room where the robbers had tried to kill me, unlike earlier when I had pretended, I was actually deep in thought now. Why would they run? I thought about the facts, what did they know. They knew I was the son of Kronos, the Titan Lord, they knew I had a variety of powers, which brought me back to my scared theory. But they knew I had powers going in, why confront me then? But what had they confronted me with; a monstrous creature and a woman who tried to hurt me from behind, not exactly fair one on one combat. But I couldn't shake the feeling they were running from something other than me, I saw them when they ran, no communication to each other, they didn't regroup, I watched their mouths and they didn't say a word. I looked through a few walls and, to my surprise, managed to recognise the figure of one of the snipers, he was almost out the door and still running, confirming my suspicions.

No communication used, they weren't after me anymore, they were running from something but not me, so what? A Titan. I hoped but I figured that ship had sailed, I'd met Atlas and Hyperion very recently as well as having a gift from my father, I doubted any other Titans would come to my aid anytime soon. Which left a few possibilities, monsters on my side? My father commanded an army of god-hating creatures that could have sent the snipers running, but I didn't see any red figures with my eyes, I'd noticed when fighting the wolfish creature that monsters appeared red with my empowered eyes. I let my magical eyes fade and the word turned back to its regular colours, but I didn't take too much notice. In the end, as I reached the doorway I figured that there must be something nearby that was after me, so they didn't stick around. That would mean they didn't want to see me go down, so it had to be powerful, which wasn't good.

I pushed open the door of the bank and thunder hit the ground in front of me as heavy rain soaked me from head to toe. I noticed my comrades walking towards me, apparently they had woken up. I turned my magical eyes back on and they were a bright orange colour, somewhat like the god of wind had been, these were not my comrades. As if I needed anymore proof my actual comrades were beginning to stand up, behind these fakes. I turned off my eyes and smiled, I'd always wanted to kill these three. I spun, unhooking my scythe from its strap and decapitating the fake Vern, making me smile. The body gave a quick flash of lightning and then disappeared. I kicked Liz's right leg and smacked her in the face with my scythe as Raan swung with his hammer, missing me completely and killing fake Liz. I stabbed Raan and chuckled as he disappeared, having the most fun I'd had in a long time.

"That was fun, ready to fight for real?" I shouted at the sky above me and the rain stopped.

A giant flash of lightning hit the ground and a huge figure rose, much like Poseidon in the water, but this god made his avatar of thunder and lightning, this was Poseidon's brother, Zeus, god of the sky. The avatar towered above me and got ready to strike.

"Hey, brother." I waved sarcastically with a smile on my face. Zeus roared in anger and almost attacked before a flash of purple destroyed the thundery avatar. Zeus took human form, an old man holding a lighting bolt in his hand, and was joined by a man wearing a blue and purple cloak with a trident in his hand, Poseidon. Finally, A man in full black armor with a black sword hung on his belt rose from the ground in a quick blast of fire.

"Where are you, father?" Zeus asked, figuring Kronos had just saved my life.

"Hey," I pointed out "we're all brothers, first time meeting all together. We're like a happy little family." Hades chuckled underneath his helm and Zeus scowled at me, Poseidon ignored the comment.

I noticed in that distance my comrades from Camp Half-Blood keeping their distance, smart move, which meant I could talk freely, not as a camper but as the son of the Titan Lord, Kronos.

"Did any of you realise," I continued "I am the only one he didn't try to eat? Interesting, huh." I had succeeded in my attempts to get Zeus to attack me and he threw his thunderbolt like a javelin, but I had predicted it way ahead of time and dodged swiftly.

"You can do better than that, you're a freaking god." I mocked Zeus again, but he tried to remain calm. It was fairly clear to all involved that Kronos was not coming to joined us, so Poseidon and Zeus quickly turned towards me. I had to think quickly and decided to take my chances in a one on one fight with Zeus, so I had to remove Poseidon.

Poseidon closed in on me and swung his trident. Ducking the blow would have been easy so I sidestepped and tapped the weapon, subtly pushing it towards Hades. It slammed into the god of the underworld and the temperature rose, literally. He speared Poseidon and the two sunk into the ground, to fight in whatever godly way they chose. Zeus chuckled thinking he had the upper hand now that we were alone, and he may have been right, if he hadn't underestimated me. He sent a constant stream of lightning after me and I raised my scythe into the the air, summoning my super strength and slamming my foot into the ground, raising up pieces of concrete debris. I ran away from the beam and used my gravity power to send them towards Zeus. The rocks were disintegrated when they got close to him, so I changed tactic, and decided to use a power that I rarely needed.

The lightning raced towards me and I raised my scythe and the lightning hit the blade, stopping it from killing me. I then used the hand not steadying my scythe to speed up time in a small bubble, including the lightning stream. This power let lightning stream into my scythe and a much faster rate until the blade no longer glowed with heat and it adapted. I thought my plan was successful when my scythe adapted but it was more successful than I'd ever hoped, it did more than adapt, it absorbed. The stream of lightning slowly receded into Zeus's thunderbolt and he seemed surprised, he hadn't retracted it.

I looked at my blade and, above the inscription were the symbols. The squared spiral, the globe and the arrow, which glowed purple, orange and blue respectively when activated. Next to those symbols a lightning bolt appeared, burning onto the scythe until it cooled down. Figuring I had nothing to lose against a god I hit the lightning bolt symbol and it glowed white. I heard a crackle and decided to follow my instinct and tried to direct power towards the blade of my scythe, which worked. The blade of my weapon was coated in lightning and I knew instantly it could cut through absolutely anything in such a state. I retracted the energy and directed it to the very end of my scythe, the bit that was flat and connected to the blade. A lightning stream much like Zeus's shot out of the end of my weapon and straight at Zeus.

The god's invisible shield stopped the stream but as time went by and I sped up the stream with my time control power the shield gradually came into view, with a blue spark popping up here and there. Zeus felt his shield weakening and sent out a pulse of lightning, but I retracted my power and used a lightning shield to protect myself. Zeus was now officially pissed. He believed it was one thing for me to insult, belittle and fight the god but to try and best him in a battle of lightning power was one step to far. I, of course, had no hope I'd defeat Zeus, especially with lightning but I hoped I could make him retreat. I fired a few short blasts of lightning at Zeus before darting away, running down the street towards my comrades. I withdrew my power and the white light faded. I reactivated my magical eyes to keep an eye on the god.

I hid behind a tree in the middle of the park with my comrades crouching beside me, it wasn't the first time in my quest I could honestly stay I thought I might die. We had one advantage over the god, we outnumbered him. We discussed tactics as Zeus searched and quickly vetoed the idea of talking to him, we were beyond that now. I developed a quickly strategy and, due to a lack of time, we jumped to it. Vern jumped out and rained down a hail of arrows on the god, each of which disintegrated. Luckily enough for the son of Apollo the god didn't care to kill any demigods, just me. Liz ran at Zeus but was deflected with a non-lethal blast of lightning. Raan stood up next and threw his hammer at Zeus, which was deflected. Both Vern and Raan were hit and went flying, along with our plan, but I always had a backup plan and never fought a battle without an ace up my sleeve, and it was time to use it.

Zeus saw me run away from him and into a busy street and laughed, then channelled his power into a single lightning blast and fired it straight at me. I was struck in the back and hit the floor as Zeus chuckled, letting his power flow back, but he had his shield up no longer. I knew that if that lightning blast had hit me I'd be dead, well technically it did hit me, just not the real me. Zeus watched in horror and dismay as the Morwin he had just killed crackled and the turned into lightning before disappearing. I'd used a lighting clone, just like he had earlier in the fight. I jumped down from the tree I was hidden in and swung my scythe, layered with lightning. I penetrated the weak shield the god put up when he saw me coming and him in the chest. Ichor flowed and reminded me in the vials in each of my pockets, but it also reminded Zeus.

He threw lightning at one of my pockets, the left one, god ichor. I narrowly dodged the attack and then ducked another, deflecting strikes with my scythe. Zeus kept the blasts coming, I wondered how he knew I had the ichor, or how he knew I even needed it, but kept blocking. After another few blasts I hit the lightning symbol on my scythe again and it glowed white, I dropped my scythe and rolled, pulling out the gun I had stashed. I shot three bullets, each layered with lightning. The first two bullets hit Zeus in the chest but the final got him right in his forehead and he disappeared. Once again I had faced a greek god and escaped with my life.


End file.
